The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

I read this book for the first time several years ago.  I remembered I liked it, but I never read the sequels.  My kids really liked the whole series so I decided to go back and read the first one again and then read the others.  Gen is a thief, who starts the book in the King's prison.  The king's Magus comes to the prison to recruit Gen to steel something in exchange for his freedom.  Gen goes along with the Magus, his two apprentices, and a body guard, not even knowing what he is to steel. Most of the story is the interaction between the five main characters as they travel to the place where the mystical object is hidden. Turner adds in snatches of folk tale and mythology tie neatly into the main story. This is one of the books where the main character isn't very likeable in the beginning.  He is arrogant, self centered and annoying. As the book goes on the reader gets to like some of the characters more, and some less. The book has a delightful twist at the end, that left me with a big smile.  I love it when an author can make a surprise ending, but after I am finished I can look back and see all the clues that hinted at it, but that I missed. I am eager to read the next one in the series, and have it on hold. (236 p)

Gossamer by Lois Lowry

This is a book that answers the question, "Where do dreams come from." In this story dreams come from little beings who flit around your room at night and gather fragments of your memories that they then "bestow" on you as a dream. The enemies of the dream givers are the terrible Sinisteeds, the wild horse like creatures that bring nightmares. Littlest One is a dream giver in training, and with the help of Tall Elderly, she tries to help a boy who has been the victim of abuse overcome his anger and learn to love his gentle foster grandmother.  This is really two stories.  The story of the dream givers is all about mentoring and coming of age.  The story of John and his mother is about dealing with and overcoming the scars of abuse. Lowry weaves the two stories together gently and beautifully.  This would be a good story for a even a young child who is either dealing with abuse themselves, or has a friend who is dealing with those problems. I think the book has an unfortunate cover.  I think the cover is a little creepy and makes it look like a book for teens or tweens. In reality, even with its difficult theme, it is appropriate for children as young as 7 or 8 years old. (140 p)