Review of “The Serpent’s Tale” by Ariana Franklin

When I read the first book of this mystery series set in medieval England, Mistress of the Art of Death, I enjoyed the book but felt that Adelia, the woman doctor who is the protagonist, seemed like a twenty-first century woman (minus cell phone) back in the twelfth. Now, however, I’ve come to terms with [...]

Review of “Mare’s War” by Tanita S. Davis

Mare’s War for Young Adults is a [fictional] account of a woman who served in the [actual] 6888th Postal Battalion of the Women’s Army Corps for African American women soldiers during World War II. Although this unit was trained for combat conditions, its primary function was to handle the thousands of pieces of backlogged mail [...]

Review of “Linger” by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger is Book Two of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. This tale of the relationships between werewolves and humans takes up where Shiver left off, but both books actually end (a rarity these days for trilogies), and can each be read independently. Linger is less about the characters in wolf form and more about [...]

Review of “Shiver” by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver begins: “I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.” Grace, a young girl of 11, has been attacked by wolves behind her house. She is saved by a wolf with yellow eyes, who is as drawn to her as she to him. She always looks [...]