Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer

 Enola is at the funeral of one of her friends when she hears a bell ringing.  She follows the sound to its origins, and discovers that a young woman has been buried alive. Enola and her companions exhume and revive the woman, but she can't remember who she is and why someone would try to kill her. Of course, Enola is on the case, but as she starts to dig into the woman's past, she finds she is wading into very deep criminal waters. Soon, protecting her new young friend become a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Nancy Springer wrote her first six Enola Holmes books in the early 2000's and then waited more than 10 years to write the most recent four.  I think her return to the character is probably because of her success with the Enola Holmes series on Netflix. Or it might be because the Sir Arthur Conon Doyle family trust sewed Springer and others for copywrite infringement in 2020, but the suit was dismissed. Anyway, whatever the reason, we are glad she started writing more novels.  This one is as good as all her others.  Enola is such a fun character, with equal quantities of courage and insecurities.  (Spoiler) I thought it was brave of Springer to take on writing about Holme's arch enemy, but she used a creative angle and handled it well.  I wonder if her taking on "the man who must not be named" in this book means that it will be her last. (336p. 2026) 

Loving Lieutenant Lancaster by Sarah Eden

 Lieutenant Linus Lancaster has been hesitant to take the up the living that should have gone to his brother who died in his arms during the war. He reluctantly accepts an invitation to a house party being held by the Jonquil family not knowing that it is a ploy by his sisters to try to find a wife for him. He is not interested in the long line of debutants they march before him, but there is a young lady who catches his eye. Jonquil Dowager Matron has recently taken a companion.  Arabella was a neighbor to the Jonquils when they were all children, but left orphaned at a very young age.  She has long wished that she could be part of the large, energetic, and loving Jonquil family, but she, instead, was left to be raised by a cruel aunt and uncle. As the house party progresses, Anabella finds herself the keeper of many Jonquil family secrets, and the recipient of Lieutenant Lancaster's attentions. Their stations are so different neither of them believe they have a future together, but can they stand to live their futures apart?

Here is the next in the "Lancaster Family" series. I am not sure why 2 1/2 years have gone by since I read the last one.  I have enjoyed all of them.  They are clean, predictable, and heartwarming.  This one is no exception.  The romance between Linus and Arabella is sweet.  At one point the reader thinks, "why is he going away, doesn't he know he is in love with her?" but I think that young, inexperienced people sometimes take a little while to figure things out.  There is a tie-in to the mythological character, Linus, but it is not a major point in the plot. In the books in this series, the main characters are supported by their family and given timely advice. They are not perfect, but they do look out for each other, which is nice in this day and age when family units are not what they used to be.  (256, 2015)

The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri

When Babak's father is killed, Babak promises his little sister, Sana, vow they will stay together, even though their harsh aunt sends Babak to one family, and Sana to another.  In order to stay together they sneak away and attempt to join the nomadic travelers whom their father used to serve as an itinerate teachers. Their decision to find and follow the nomads lead them on a daring adventure through the deserts of Iran during WWII.  Because Iran is technically controlled by the Allies, British and Russian soldiers crowd the bars and tea houses, while German spies sneak around trying to learn secrets.  During their travels Babak and Sana meet a Jewish boy who is trying to return to his brother who has been shipped to Israel. Babak feels like he should help him, but the boy, hardened and sharpened by his experiences, has a difficult personality. Babak's only tool to deal with all the diversity and challenges of his life on the run is the chalk board that he father used to tutor nomadic children, and his love of language and teaching.

Here the winner of this year's Newbery Honor winner. It is a truly charming book and accessible to a wide range of ages.  I have read a lot of WWII stories, but this one is unique because Iran was an outlier in the conflict.  Both sides vied for control of its oil, but it never officially entered into the war.  The theme of the book is using communication to bridge cultural and political differences.  Babak tries to teach the nomads Farsi, and to get the Ben, the Jewish refugee, to teach him Hebrew. Barak not only tries to learn other's languages, he tries to understand how they are feeling as well. Babak's efforts to exercise cultural tolerance and understanding is at the core of the book's charm. It is interesting that this book and the previous book, Piecing Me Together, both deal with trying to understand different people's cultures and points of view, but this one does it in such a charming and heart warming way, while the other just left me feeling cold. (192 p. 2025)

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

 Jade is a "scholarship" student and one of only a few black students at an elite school in Washington. She knows she should feel grateful for the opportunity to get such a good education, but she often feels like she doesn't fit in.  However, when she gets together with the kids in her own neighborhood, she feels like an outsider with them as well, since they don't go to school together. When she meets a new girl, Sam, at her school who, although not black, at least has a family with as many challenges as Jade's, she begins to hope that she has at last found a friend at the school. As they hang out together, Jade begins to see that, even though Sam is from a similar neighborhood, life is different for her since she is white.  Sam doesn't seem to understand what it feels like to be the object of prejudice. Meanwhile her school councilor enrolls Jade in a "mentorship" program with a previous graduate of Jade's school who is a successful black woman. That doesn't work out as well as Jade had hoped either.  Why does everyone see her as someone who needs help instead of someone who could give help?

After I read All the Blues in the Sky by Ms Watson, I decided to read this, her earlier Newbery Honor book. It is well written. Watson tackles difficult questions about identity and race relations with sensitivity, and doesn't give in to any easy answers. It is probably inspirational to people in similar situations to Jade, but in the end I didn't enjoy it. Maybe that is the point. It is supposed to make white people feel uncomfortable. It helped me understand the defensive and combative attitudes I see in some of my minority students better, I guess. Still, I think there are other books about the same topic that I would recommend before this one, like anything by Jason Reynolds. (2017, 272p)

Land of Dragons by Beth McMullen

 In this second in the "Secret of the Storm" series, Cassie, Joe, Cassie's mom and  Miss Asher, the librarian, are all set to enter the Dragon World to save Albert.  Instead Albert comes back to their world, and seems to be on a mission to find someone who will help him save his mother.  The quest leads them to a dragon festival in another state where they make new friends and avoid old enemies. Meanwhile, Cassie's ability to control the glitter power she received from Albert is improving which is a good thing, because they will need all the friends and powers they can get if they are to save Albert's mother.

Sometimes when I am between holds, I just go through the books I have already read and look for the next in the series.  That is what happened here.  The second in the series does a good job of advancing the story of the first.  There are new characters to meet and new adventures to be had.  This is not likely to be an award winner, but I think there are a lot of 4th and 5th graders, or even younger children who are confident readers, who would enjoy this series. (272 p. 2023)

Awakened by Roseanna M. White

 Arden had always felt comfortable living in her beautiful and kind half-sister, Jade's shadow. Then the unthinkable happens.  Jade is taken by the Black-tale mermen and Arden has to find a way to save her. Luckily, that very day, Seidon, the kind of all the land-walkers, and half merman as well, visits their city for the first time in a generation. He must find a bride soon so he can have an heir and pass his magical powers that keep Daryalta prosperous. Arden wonders if Jade was the one destined to be Seidon's wife, and that is why the rogue mermen have taken her.  As Arden works with Seidon to rescue Jade, Seidon begins to think it is Arden rather than Jade who is the match the Triada intends for him.  He certainly hopes so.

If you follow my blog you will know that Roseanna White is one of my favorite historical Christian romance/mystery writers.  The only reason I haven't read one of her books in a while is that I had read all the ones available in my library. I was surprised, therefore, to find this YA fantasy written by her.  The question is, can she write fantasy?  Well, the things that made me like her as a historical fiction writer are all here. There are good well-rounded characters, a nice balance of the dramatic and the humorous, and a view of how faith works similar to my own. There are other things I like.  Her world building and magical system are interesting.  She also ties in some obscure Old Testament references as important plot points in a fun and clever way. The thing I didn't like was that it totally needed to be edited!  Should could have cut out 1/3 of the text and it would have been a much better book. The main thing she needed to cut out was all the times Jade is feeling insecure and Seidon tells her how wonderful she is. The first time and even the second time this happens, the reader is thinking "ah, how sweet."  But by the 10th or 20th (ok maybe 20 is an exaggeration, but not by much)  time this happens the reader is thinking, "Oh, this conversation again?  Let's skip a few pages to get past all this."  All the positive affirmations don't move the plot along so the whole story starts to drag. The audio book is 19 hours long!  I actually considered giving up on the book at about 15 hours. I did finish it. The question is, will I read the next one in the series.  The answer: only if there is clear evidence that someone hired an editor. (348 p. 2025)

note: 348 p seems like a normal length book. I don't know why the recording was so long.  Was the print just really small?

Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer

 When Scarlet Radcliff's father died, she became an heiress, and a target for her greedy uncle.  To keep her safe, her mother sent her off with her grandmother to grow up in a secluded forest. She took on the name of Letty Hood, and at some point, found a raised a wolf pup to be her constant faithful companion. As Letty approaches her 21st birthday, when she will inherit her fortune and make a will that will eliminate the possibility that her uncle would if she died, her mother hires a Pinkerton agent to find her and bring her home. Philip Carmichael knows that Letty's uncle has hired multiple assassins to find Letty and kill her but her grandmother has hidden her too well. How can he find her when they couldn't and then how could he safely transport her back to her home?  As the two begin the journey together, the biggest questions is how can they keep from falling in love with each other. 

You have to admire Witemeyer for taking on the challenge of writing a romance based on Little Red Riding Hood. I think she did as well as any could.  She basically took all of the main characters; the wolf, the grandmother, Red, and the huntsmen, added a bad guy, the uncle, and then wrote a story. You know how I like Witemeyer, and I liked this one as well. There were some funny scenes that had me grinning the whole time I was reading them, and some pretty good action scenes as well. Scarlett and Philip are the same two characters that are in all of Witemeyer's books--she really only knows how to write one kind of leading lady and leading man--but somehow I don't get tired of reading her books. (2024, 352 p)