Brown_Ch08.qxd 8/13/03 11:47 AM Page 125 125 8 Fantasy and Supernatural 8.1 Aiken, Joan. The Cuckoo Tree. Houghton Mifflin, 2000 (Origi- nally published in 1971). 289 pp. ISBN 0-618-07023-0. Fiction As she travels home, Dido stumbles on adventure. After her coach is hijacked and her escort wounded, the journey must be delayed so the escort can heal. Dido finds a place to stay, which happens to be next door to an evil witch. Along with another crone, the witch plans to steal a young boy’s inheri- tance and overthrow the government. Dido uncovers the plot and, with the help of friends, manages to save the king and the inheritance. 8.2 Aiken, Joan. The Stolen Lake. Houghton Mifflin, 2000 (Origi- nally published in 1981). 314 pp. ISBN 0-618-07021-4. Fiction On her way home from China, Dido, a spunky, tomboyish young girl, is forced to accompany the ship to a South American En- glish colony named Bath. While there, she learns of a secret plot to overthrow Bath’s rightful king. The reigning queen has stolen the princess from a neighboring land, and only Dido can save her. Sacrificing her own safety, Dido reveals the queen’s plot and discovers that the rightful king is Mr. Holyston—the captain’s personal servant! 8.3 Alexander, Lloyd. The Gawgon and the Boy. Dutton, 2001. 199 pp. ISBN 0-525-46677-0. Fiction “The Boy” is David, slowly recovering from “New Monia” dur- ing the Great Depression; “The Gawgon” is his Aunt Annie, who volunteers to take over his education during his extended con- valescence. It doesn’t take David long to spin imaginary scenar- ios in which the intrepid Gawgon mixes it up with Napoleon, Mona Lisa, and Sherlock Holmes, among others. But Aunt Annie’s mental acuity is stronger than her overtired heart; when she dies, David is desolate until she comes back to comment on his first attempts to impress a girl. Brown_Ch08.qxd 8/13/03 11:47 AM Page 126 126 Challenging Our Imaginations 8.4 Almond, David. Heaven Eyes. Delacorte, 2001. 233 pp. ISBN 0-385-32770-6. Fiction Whitegates is an English orphanage for abandoned, wounded children. One moonlit night Erin Law, an orphan who still dreams of her mother, and two friends escape on a raft and sail down the river. Before long their joy at being free turns to fear as they get stuck in a mud hole. Rescued by a girl named Heaven Eyes, their lives are changed forever as she takes them on a jour- ney filled with bizarre characters and mystical experiences. 8.5 Almond, David. Skellig. Delacorte, 2000. 182 pp. ISBN 0-440- 41602-7. Fiction Michael finds a mysterious and haunting stranger living in his garage. This birdlike creature is unlike anyone or anything he has seen before. This mystery is only part of the recent turmoil in Michael’s life, which includes an ill infant sister and a move to a new home. With the help of his new friend Mina, Michael learns about the healing power of love. The book is written in lyrical prose. 8.6 Amato, Mary. The Word Eater. Illustrated by Christopher Ryniak. Holiday House, 2000. 151 pp. ISBN 0-8234-1468-X. Fiction What do a lonely sixth-grade girl and a hungry baby worm have in common? Lerner Chanse struggles with cliques and fitting in at her new school, but then she discovers an unusual ally—Fip, a word-eating worm. With both frightening and hilarious results, Fip eats a word or phrase, causing that “item” to disappear from the world, thus setting off unexpected chains of events. As the consequences of Fip and Lerner’s actions take unexpected twists and turns, Lerner faces some important decisions. 8.7 Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Demon in My View. Delacorte, 2000. 176 pp. ISBN 0-385-32720-X. Fiction Seventeen-year-old Jessica Allodola doesn’t fit in at her high school. Cynical and dressed in dark clothing, she writes vampire tales on her laptop and prefers the company of her imaginary creatures to the real students. But when she discovers that the new guy in school is actually an alluring male vampire from her novel, Jessica goes deeper and deeper into her imaginary world, Brown_Ch08.qxd 8/13/03 11:47 AM Page 127 Chapter 8: Fantasy and Supernatural 127 meeting other supernatural beings, until she must decide what direction she will take with her life. 8.8 Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Midnight Predator. Delacorte, 2002. 248 pp. ISBN 0-385-32794-3. Fiction The place is Midnight, the ancient evil sanctuary of vampires and their human slaves that centuries ago was burned to the ground. Now it has risen from the ashes to open its dark doors once more. Only one person can save the world from impending doom—Turquoise Draka, famed human vampire who has the power and will to kill the most malevolent Midnight vampire, Jeshikah. The resulting adventures provide plenty of hair-raising turns and ironic twists. 8.9 Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Shattered Mirror. Delacorte, 2001. 228 pp. ISBN 0-385-32793-5. Fiction As seventeen-year-old Sarah, daughter of a powerful line of vampire-hunting witches, continues to pursue the ancient bloodsucking vampire Nikolas, she finds herself in a dangerous friendship with two vampire siblings in her high school. Readers will enjoy the scenes of high school life, the inevitable conflicts of growing up, and the haunting qualities of Sarah’s high school friends. 8.10 Bauer, Steven. A Cat of a Different Color. Illustrated by Tim Raglin. Delacorte, 2000. 197 pp. ISBN 0-385-32710-2. Fiction Soon after electing Mayor Hoytie, the townspeople of Felicity- by-the-Lake regret voting for the candidate who gave them free bonbons. The town becomes a somber place when Mayor Hoytie establishes new rules declaring all fun off-limits to everyone except his family. Ulwazzer, a cat unique in his ability to change color, and Mrs. Hoytie’s orphaned distant cousin Daria team up to restore the town to its former idyllic state. 8.11 Beaverson, Aiden. The Hidden Arrow of Maether. Delacorte, 2000. 177 pp. ISBN 0-385-32750-1. Fiction Linn’s dead father abhorred the worship of Rane, but her abu- sive stepfather wants to marry her off to a cult leader. Linn’s escape is only the first of her tests in a pilgrimage that will con- sistently force her to choose between good and evil. This is the Brown_Ch08.qxd 8/13/03 11:47 AM Page 128 128 Challenging Our Imaginations first novel in a series as Linn joins the ranks of those mythical people who bear the lysemarks. 8.12 Billingsley, Franny. The Folk Keeper. Aladdin, 2001. 161 pp. ISBN 0-689-84461-1. Fiction Corinna, a skinny and awkward orphan, passes herself off as a boy (Corin) and becomes the folk keeper. Corinna/Corin tells her story through journals, from which we learn that the job of folk keeper requires the strength of will and the power to fend off the destructive power of the folk—mysterious, carnivorous creatures that live beneath the earth. If their voracious appetites are not appeased with food left in dark cellars, the folk will plague humankind with horrible mischief or bad luck. 8.13 Browne, N. M. Warriors of Alavna. Bloomsbury, 2000. 308 pp. ISBN 1-58234-775-1. Fiction After wandering into a mysterious mist, contemporary British teenagers Dan and Ursula find themselves in a wild, unfamiliar place. Eventually they realize they have passed into first-century Great Britain, where tribes of Celtic warriors battle Roman legions and magic is taken for granted. Dan discovers he has great prowess as a fighter, and Ursula learns she has power as a priestess. Both are tested as they vow to avenge the village of Alavna, ravaged by Roman soldiers. 8.14 Casanova, Mary. Curse of a Winter Moon. Hyperion, 2000. 137 pp. ISBN 0-7868-2475-1. Fiction Although he longs to pursue his gift for music, Marius must serve as protector for his younger brother, Jean-Pierre, whose Christmas Eve birthday causes the villagers to suspect he is a werewolf. As religious tensions mount and fear spreads in the sixteenth-century France village, endangering his family further, Marius is faced with a terrible choice. 8.15 Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl. Hyperion, 2001. 277 pp. ISBN 0-7868-0801-2. Fiction Artemis may not be everybody’s hero: he’s smart, rich, and inclined toward crime. This inclination is part of his heritage; the Fowls have been making deals people can’t refuse for a long Brown_Ch08.qxd 8/13/03 11:47 AM Page 129 Chapter 8: Fantasy and Supernatural 129 time. For that matter, the leprechauns are hardly typical either, and when Artemis seeks to mend the family fortunes by kidnap- ping one, his action sets off a chain reaction of bluff and double bluff, all played without much sentimentality or fabled Irish charm. 8.16 Corlett, William. The Bridge in the Clouds. Pocket, 2001 (Origi- nally published in 1992). 342 pp. ISBN 0-7434-1004-1. Fiction William Constant and his younger sisters travel to Golden House in Wales for their holidays. But this seemingly innocent vacation is a turning point in their lives. Something is wrong at Golden House: Morden’s evil rats are everywhere and the chil- dren can’t find the magician. Wondering if he is ill, they decide they must risk their lives traveling back in time to lead the final battle in order to keep Morden from becoming all-powerful while they search for the magician.