Bibliography

Plot Summary:  Thief and housebreaker Mary Quinn is rescued from Old Bailey and educated at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls for a chance at a better life. She tries her hand at several careers but is bored and uninspired.  Two of the school’s teachers make her an interesting offer:  to work for the Agency as a spy.  The Agency uses society’s ideas about women as foolish and weak to their advantage in observing and gathering information.  Mary is placed in a household of a merchant as a paid companion to his spoiled daughter Angelica to listen and observe anything suspicious about his ships and shipments.  She becomes anxious and frustrated by her limited role and decides to do a little extra snooping to help the case, only to find herself hiding in a wardrobe with James Easton, brother of Angelica’s biggest admirer with his own concerns about her father’s business.  Mary doesn’t tell him the whole truth about her role, but they agree to work together to gather information.  Along the way there will be breaking and entering, an elopement, a kiss, and a secret revealed about Mary’s past.

Critical Analysis:  A reader and lover of mysteries almost my entire life, I am thrilled that this series is being published for young adults.  Unlike adult fiction, there are few high quality true mysteries to offer teens.  The idea of the Agency is a little contrived, and it does take quite a bit to set up the whole story with Mary, but once it gets going the pace picks up. In my opinion, this could just as easily been picked up by an adult mystery imprint, that’s how good it is.

Mary is a likable character who though sometimes shy is determined and will do anything to help solve the case she is on.  Readers will rejoice when she first escapes the gallows and later escapes being caught breaking and entering a warehouse to try and gather information.  Mary’s kind heart reaches out to a young servant girl and even manages to crack bratty Angelica’s facade.  Her looks and behavior sets her apart from other women in James Easton’s eyes, and readers will happily see their romance coming from the start.

James is perhaps wise beyond his years, but he has had a lot of  responsibility from an early age working at the family business of civil engineering.  His concern for his brother is a concern for the business as well.  Thank goodness he isn’t too smart, as he can’t quite figure Mary out and remains both intrigued and infuriated at turns.

The mystery itself is well handled, with a few red herrings thrown in for good measure and several suspenseful scenes that will have the reader turning pages to find out how things turn out in the end.  The details of Victorian England add to the mystery and suspense with the heat and the smells, the carriage rides, chases on foot, messages delivered by errand boys, servants who see and are seen.  The true villain is a surprise but not surprising as should be in the best mysteries.  I think that this title will appeal not only to readers of historical fiction, but will also have crossover appeal with readers of Victorian and Regency fantasy and steampunk.

Readalikes: Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman by Eleanor Updale.  Also set in England in the past, like Mary, Montmorency is a thief who tries to make a new identity for himself only to find a new use for old skills.

La Petite Four by Regina Scott.  Set in Regency England, four best friends do a little spying to try and find a reason why Lady Emily shouldn’t marry a determined Lord Robert.

The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Victorian mystery series by Ann Perry, especially Buckingham Palace Gardens:  At a loss when a murder is committed at Buckingham Palace, Pitt calls in maid Gracie Phipps to be his eyes and ears to help catch the murderer.

Companion by Ann Granger:  The first thing Lizzie Martin sees when she arrives in London in 1864 as a paid companion is a young woman’s body being taken away on a wagon.  She discovers her predecessor disappeared suddenly in mysterious circumstances and is a determined to discover the truth.

The Blackstone Key by Rose Melikan:  In 1795 England, Mary Finch escapes her dull teaching job at an academy for girls to visit her estranged uncle’s estate.  Along the way she encounters a mysterious dying man and upon arrival discovers her uncle has died and his estate is connected to a gang of smugglers.

Review Excerpt: “Set in the richly described underbelly of Victorian London, Lee’s debut novel…introduces feisty Mary Quinn….Through the many and somewhat contrived plot twists, Mary’s skills are tested; she prevails with Easton’s help and attentions…Mary’s lively escapades, on the whole, will hold readers’ attention and whet their interest for the next installment.”–Publisher’s Weekly

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Plot Summary: What Solange really wants is for everyone to leave her alone.  Almost sixteen, she prefers throwing pots and spending time with her best friend Lucy to field parties and boys.  No ordinary teen, Solange is a member of the legendary Drake vampire family with seven overprotective brothers, a serious father and a kick butt mother. As she is approaches the change, it seems like everyone is after her because of some ancient prophecy that she might be the one to unify vampires the world over.

Critical Analysis: When I first picked this up, I thought, oh, another Twilight copycat.  Vampires, romance, danger.  I liked Twilight okay, but too many similar books make me want to swear off paranormal romance for good.  With Hearts I was pleasantly surprised.  Witty, funny, and action packed, this is a story of good friends and loving family that explores the question of whether fate is set in stone.

Solange, which means solemn or dignified, is the dark to Lucy’s light.  (Lucy means light or illumination).  It is refreshing to see not one but two female teen characters in a novel like this who can not only take care of themselves, but support each other as well.  Solange refuses to leave Lucy out of the eventful days leading up to her sixteenth birthday, and Lucy refuses to give up when time is short and Solange needs her help the most.

Others in the story are just as delightful, Lucy’s hippie parents who are fully aware of what the Drake family is and encourage their daughter to spend time with them anyway.  (Lucy’s mother explains that vampires are differently abled.)  Solange’s dad is a wise and solemn patriarch while her mother is eager to defend her family from all comers.  Eccentric Aunt Hyacinth looks at everything as if it were still the Victorian times of her youth, while body guard Bruno would give his life for the Drakes.  Of Solange’s seven brothers, each has his own character, but Nicholas gets the most attention here as a slowly blossming romance with Lucy shows that he really does have a caring side beyond all the teasing over the years.  The villains are particularly bad baddies, with Lady Natasha current ruler of the vampires longing for her old lover Montmatre, as well as Hounds, Hosts, and Hel Blar and Helios Ra vampire hunters might or might not be after the Drakes as well.

Harvey’s take on the vampires legends, adding genetic vampirism and this dangerous change to the mix is refreshing, and the pace of the book is relentless in the best possible way.  Fluffy and fun with its ending never in doubt, every teen girl you know was dying to read this yesterday and will be back tomorrow to ask when the next book is due out.

Review Excerpts: “[A] refreshing take on the familiar teenage vampire drama…. builds an engaging world of vampire cultures balanced with a smart mix of darkness and humor…an emphasis on family and friendship sets this story apart.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“This fluffy series opener is fundamentally silly and derivative of everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Twilight to Harry Potter, but its fast-moving plot and refusal to take itself too seriously offer partial redemption.”–Kirkus Reviews

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Bibliography

Plot Summary: Riley Spartz, television news reporter  in Minneapolis, just knows she has  a ratings winner when a former homicide detective hands her two cold case files–two women named Susan murdered on the same day but different years.  Riley knows they are connected and thinks perhaps there might be more, but how to prove it?  Her boss wants her to focus on a fraud investigation featuring cremated pets, a local city politician thinks she is only out for ratings, and could her source be hiding information about the crimes?

Critical Analysis:  I picked up this book at the public library because I had won a copy of the second in the series, Missing Mark, from the publisher.   I am one of those readers who prefers for the most part, to read series in order.  I like to see how the characters and relationships develop from the start.

I really enjoyed this title, and I would be lying if I didn’t tell you it was in part because my name is Susan, and it is not the most common name in the world, so that fact that the author choose it to be the center of this mystery appealed to me.  (Not because I want to be murdered or anything, I just appreciated it, is all).

Riley Spartz is a great character, someone you’d like to go to lunch or shopping with, or to a movie, except you’d have to worry about whether you were off the record or not, or whether she might be secretly filming that same resturant or shopping mall or movie theater for a future story.  Throughout the story, Kramer gives us just enough information about Riley’s past to explain some of her current outlook on work, life and love.

The main mystery is handled well, with twists, turns, and red herrings to keep things interesting.  I didn’t see the end coming but wasn’t surprised by the reveal either, a sign of a job well done in my book.  I also really enjoyed the secondary story line about the fraud investigation into pet cremation, as much because of how serious a story it turned out to be as because of all the details of how a news story like that works.  (And the sanctification when the villain gets what is coming to him.)  I think that is one of the strengths of this book, that all the details around the mystery are so well done.  I now know a little more about the local news scene, and was glad that both Malik the camera man and Toby the pet lover and a few of his dogs make appearances in the second book.

Readalikes:  While not a match in tone or appeal, I was reminded of Chelsea Cain’s series about a serial killer that features Susan Ward as a newspaper reporter for the local paper.  The series gives glimpses into how a larger newspaper really runs.  The first book in the series is Heartsick.

Review Excerpts:   “Kramer writes with heart and pizzazz, and her believable heroine makes the well-worn concept feel fresh. Kramer’s past as a TV producer lends authority to an entertaining story.”–Kirkus Reviews

“…a fast-paced and nicely characterized debut that will appeal to fans of Linda Fairstein and Laura Lippman.”–Library Journal

“Readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of the appealing Riley, who cares about justice as much as snagging at least a 40 audience share.”–Publisher’s Weekly

Reviewed from public library audio book copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Plot Summary:  In her home country, Nimira’s mother was an artist, but after her death, Nimira leaves to look for better life.  Instead, she finds herself singing and dancing in a low class music hall.  That’s where she is discovered by the mysterious and handsome Hallin Parry.  Parry makes her an offer she can’t refuse–come live with him and sing with his piano playing automaton.  But many secrets lurk in Parry’s home, not the least of which is the automaton itself.

Critical Analysis:  I really did enjoy this book.  The scenes where Nimira first comes to Parry’s home and is given good food and beautiful clothes contrasted with the subsequent scenes of exploring that same home and discovering puzzling and troubling items are very well written.  And the scenes with the automaton have a sense of joy and discovery that leaps off the page. The evil villains are sufficiently creepy and definitely bad, and the mysterious woman in the upper floors of the house raises as many questions as fears.  The plot flows along well, and when the action picks up, it is relentless and exciting.

But…for me, I am left wondering and wanting more.  What was the point of saying that this book isn’t set in an alternate England and instead making up a new world but then not giving hardly any details of the world building?  I am reminded by readers of historical fiction who ask if this story can be set and told in the present day, then how much is the historical setting really adding?  It also seems to me we find out more about almost all the characters in the story except Nimira.  I know part of the is perhaps setting up for a sequel, and even though we are not told much, I still found her charming, but still.  And finally, perhaps a small point but I felt like the fairies under the dome where mentioned  so often that the author was foreshadowing that something more was there, so in the climatic moment when nothing happened, I have to admit I was disappointed.

And yet there is an exoticness to Nimira and a gothic feel to the story as a whole.  Girls will love the romance, and the magic and the automaton add another layer to the story.  I am looking forward to the sequel to see if any of my concern might be addressed there.

Cover Controversy:  The cover at the beginning of this post is from the British edition.  Searching online will turn up much buzz about the white washing of the cover.  One such article from Entertainment Weekly can be read here.   A new cover is forthcoming from Bloomsbury.

Review Excerpts: “Debut author Dolamore draws heavily on Jane Eyre and its themes of sexual and class prejudice for her plot, reshaping the source material with skill.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“…vivid and rousing debut…Unlike similar and heftier tomes, this tale is kept under tight control with brisk pacing.”–Kirkus Reviews

Readalikes: Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermier.  Two girl cousins in early 1800s England find themselves face to face with evil magic.

The Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle.  Twin sisters share their debut season in Victorian England while hiding their magic.  But when faced with mystery and romance, a little magic might come in handy.

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Bibliography

Review: This was one of my favorite books from last year.  I don’t just love cookbooks because I love cooking, I love cookbooks with gorgeous photographs and interesting head notes and tips and techniques.  I really enjoy this kind of book, as they go into multiple variations of beloved recipes such as chocolate chip cookies and brownies as well as providing new and interesting dishes to try.  I know there are people out there who don’t like chocolate, but this book is for all of the rest of us.

I first read this online in galley form, and thought it was wonderful, but when I was able to check out a copy from the library, I liked it even more, with it’s large over-sized format and photographs that make you want to make every recipe (all 125) in the book.  From an introduction that describes the process of making chocolate and encourages a chocolate taste test through a gamut of chocolate delights and confections and tips and tricks for cooking with all forms of chocolate,  I find myself struggling not to add this to my ever growing personal collection of recipe books.

I was drawn to some of the more unique recipes such as port ganache- glazed brownies with dried cherries and fried chocolate hazelnut wontons with orange dipping sauce, but the true test of a book like this I believe are in its renditions of old favorites and classics.  For about as long as I can remember, my recipe of choice for chocolate chip cookies has been that on the back of that familiar yellow bag that has been around now for over 70 years.  But sometimes my husband complains that these are too crunchy.  So I was eager to try the recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies found on page 12.  According to the recipe, cold butter and eggs combined with a higher proportion of brown sugar will give a chewier cookie.  After baking these, I think I might have found a new chocolate chip cookie recipe to replace the old standby.  Chewy and irresistible and a recipe that even cut in half yields a ton.  The true test was my husband.

“What’s in these?” he asked?

Uh-oh, I thought, he doesn’t like them.

“They are like potato chips.  I can’t stop eating them.”

The secret?  I think it is the vanilla, three times as much as in the old familiar recipe.

I also tried the Chocolate Chip Muffins on page 244.  Recent attempts to move away from boxed muffin mix to scratch muffins had not been successful.  Again I was skeptical, as the directions called for overloading the muffin tins to get a bakery style top.  My past experience with that were muffins that overflowed the pan and baked together into a huge mess.  Again, I was wrong.  I was rewarded with huge beautiful muffins that were, of course, better than a box mix.  My only complaint was that there were too many for the two of us, so next time I’ll probably cut the recipe in half.

Now I am eager to try more–perhaps brownies will be next?  Chewy, fudgy or cakey?  Mint or peanut butter or cream cheese?  Perhaps I’ll need to buy this book after all.

Review Excerpts: “From the simple to the elegant, the editors of Fine Cooking have all your chocolate cravings covered….the 125-plus recipes cover cookies, brownies, cakes, pies and tarts, puddings and mousses, and other delectable treats. Recipes are clear and filled with enough basic tips to make novice cooks feel like pros.”–Library Journal

“[A]n absolute must for chocolate lovers. This new cookbook, filled with tantalizing color photographs, makes you want to dive into a bowl of chocolate and never come up for air. It’s a breathtaking, mouthwatering look into the world of chocolate.”–Chattanooga Times Free-Press

Reviewed from public library copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

I think I first read the Little House on the Prairie series in the summer time, but it is the winter scenes that really stick with me still.  Snow angels and sugaring snow, making pictures in the frost on the window, twisting hay and grinding wheat, Pa getting lost in a snow storm…Maybe because this was so different from my world and yet I felt a kinship with Laura.  I had a sister too, and I loved to run around outside and sometimes it was so hard to be good.

Christmas plays a big role in many of the Little House books.  In Little House in the Big Woods, several chapters are devoted to it, with the cousins visiting and staying the night, stockings and snow candy and presents–Laura’s rag doll Charlotte and Ma’s hand carved little shelf for her china shepherdess.

In Little House on the Prairie, Mary and Laura have resigned themselves to the fact that maybe there would be no Santa this year.  Laura was worried he wouldn’t be able to find them in their new home, and Mary didn’t think Santa and his reindeer could go where there was no snow.  Ma and Pa couldn’t do anything because it had been raining for days, and there was no way to get to town because the creek was overflowing and no one could get across.   Mr. Edwards a bachelor homesteader has been invited to Christmas dinner but it is doubtful he can cross the creek either.  But cross the creek he does, and he carries a package wrapped and tied on his head to keep it dry.  In the package?  Santa’s presents for the girls, for Mr. Edwards met him in Independence and walked back through the rain and flood to deliver their gifts.

In On the Banks of Plum Creek, there was Pa getting lost in a snow storm and ing shelter and eating all the oyster cracker crackers and Christmas candy, special Christmas horses and a beautiful tree filled with gifts and candy at church.  Laura is so happy with her little fur muff, not the least because it is nicer than Nellie’s.

By the Shores of Silver Lake finds the Ingalls wintering in the Surveyor’s house.  Everyone has secrets of presents made and hidden away, and the family is enjoying being warm and snug sharing company and song when the Boasts arrive half frozen from the cold and snow.  Ma again works her magic, making wonderful meals to share and finding gifts for their new friends which she places on the Christmas breakfast table, which sounds just as lovely as hanging stockings.

The hard winter weather of The Long Winter made it hard to feel merry about much, but every time the weather broke and a train got through, it felt like Christmas–letters and papers from back east, a special Christmas barrel full of gifts for everyone, it didn’t matter what day it was.  But the girls and Ma make Christmas special just the same–pooling pennies to buy a present, taking nice things they had made for themselves and giving them to others, Ma makes dinner from the last few cans of oysters from the general store, and Pa even has some Christmas candy to share.

What I take away from these scenes is the true spirit of Christmas, of having a generous soul, a loving heart, and being with family and friends.  It makes me want to reread all the books for the I don’t know which time.

Bibliography: Wilder, Laura Ingalls. (1932).  Little House in the Big Woods. New York: HarperCollins.  ISBN: 978-0061289804 (2007 75th Anniversary hardcover).

—-. (1935). Little House on the Prairie. New York: HarperCollins.  ISBN: 978-0064400022 (1994 paperback).

—-. (1937). On the Banks of Plum Creek. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0064400046 (1953 paperback).

—-. (1939). By the Shores of Silver Lake. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0060581848 (2004 paperback).

—-. (1940). The Long Winter. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0060581855 (2004 paperback).

Reviewed from public library copies.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

]]> http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-christmas-with-laura/feed/ 0 http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-look-alikes-christmas/ http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-look-alikes-christmas/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:08:36 +0000 Susan http://readspace.net/?p=701

When we were little, my sister and I got several magazines delivered to the house, Cricket, Ranger Rick, Penny Power, Muppet Magazine, Barbie Magazine to name just a few.  One was Highlights, which had stories and articles and crafts as well as regular features and puzzles.  One was a hidden picture puzzle:  A scene that at first looked normal but then if you looked closer, you could see things hidden in the pictures–a leaf that looks like a banana, a cloud that looks like a sheep and so forth.  You had to look carefully to find the different objects.  Later there were the Where’s Waldo books by Martin Handford.  My mom had a small plastic Waldo figure that she would hide in different places so young visitors could spot him

Bibliography: Steiner, Joan. (2003). Look-Alikes: Christmas. New York:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-0316811873

I first saw Joan Steiner’s Look-Alike books at the public library and they were amazing.  Scenes that at first look normal and real but then if you look closer, you realize that everything in the scene is made of something else.  And then the trick becomes spotting and naming all of those things.  I thought that these would be great for fans of Walter Wick’s I Spy series.  When I set out to choose books for holiday reading, I know I had to find Steiner’s holiday book to read and review.  I was not disappointed, I spent several hours studying the various scenes.  The first scene, a cottage covered in snow is astonishing, and I loved the Nutcracker scene.  The cathedral and New Year’s Eve fireworks though were jaw dropping in their intricacy and detail.

An added bonus is a section at the back of the book where Steiner includes a few activities for children to make their own “Look Alikes” as well as notes on how she comes up with and constructs her scenes.  Fascinating, and maybe enough to jump start creativity for young AND old.

After looking at this book, and online, I realize that we also had a jigsaw puzzle of one of Joan Steiner’s scenes, a general store I think, and was fun to put together and then try to find all the different things she had used to make the scene.  Several other puzzles are available, including the kitchen scene from this book.

Readalikes:  Walter Wick’s I Spy series as mentioned above, and books by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers who use fruit and vegetables to create scenes and stories.

Review Excerpt: “Eagle-eyed readers rejoice! There’s more to Christmas than meets the eye in Steiner’s latest Look-Alikes collection of astounding 3-D assemblages….A minimum of 100 objects makes up each of the nine settings (e.g., transporting the audience to a performance of the Nutcracker ballet, Santa’s workshop and an ornate cathedral where readers seem to stand before its stained-glass windows), and avid fans will want to seek them all.”–Publisher’s Weekly

Reviewed from public library copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

I first started reading Cooking Light in the mid-1990s, when I was still living in a college dorm.  I didn’t have a kitchen, but sometimes the cover would catch my eye from the newsstand and I’d buy the latest copy.  In addition to delicious sounding recipes with lots of photos, they also had healthy living product reviews, nutrition information, workouts, and more.  Not too long after that,  I moved out of the dorm to a little house with a kitchen and my parents got me a subscription.

I remember the first double issue (Cooking Light publishes one double issue a year that has tons of holiday recipes and gift ideas) I received had the recipe for Easy Chocolate-Caramel Brownies on the front.  I HAD to make them right away, but I didn’t have a car to drive to the grocery store.  So I walked to a little convenience store a little ways off and paid too much for all the ingredients but was so happy to bake (and eat!) the brownies.

Since then, I have subscribed to the magazine off and on, depending on whether someone was giving it to me as a gift or I could read it at the library.  I saved my back issues for years, only giving them up when we moved to Florida.  (They took up too much space.)  Fortunately, like many magazine publishers, Southern Progress Corporation realized putting their recipes and features online does not diminish their print readership.  Find Cooking Light and sister magazine’s recipes at MyRecipes.  A recent change in design, layout, and focus has made Cooking Light a joy to read and savor.

This year’s double issue includes a holiday party on the cheap, spectacular food gifts to make and give (toasted coconut marshmallows, cranberry liqueur and more), great gadgets and gifts for cooks, new takes on Christmas cookies and much much more.

I like this magazine so much that I am renewing my own subscription and giving some subscriptions as Christmas gifts as well.

Cooking Light publishes 12 issues a year (the double issue counts as 2.)

Reviewed from personal copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

The Anne books and all the short stories by L.M. Montgomery are all intertwined in my mind with the wonderful movies by Kevin Sullivan which I remember watching on PBS when they first came out.  After that, I had to read all the Anne books, followed by the Emily books, the Story Girl, several other novels and volumes of short stories.  One scene among many that stands out in my mind is when Matthew insists that Anne have a dress with puffed sleeves.  He knows that Marilla won’t approve, so he decides to make it a Christmas gift.  I have had this book on my shelf for years and not read it, because I assumed it was excerpts from the Anne books.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover many holiday short stories from Montgomery that were full of the characters, friendship, food and love that fill all her work.

Bibliography:  Montgomery, L. M. (1995).  Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories. New York: Delacorte. ISBN:  9780771062049

Review:  In addition to the excerpt from Anne of Green Gables about the puffed sleeves, there is also the story from Anne of Windy Poplars of how Katherine Brook came to Green Gables for Christmas and the magic of the place and Anne changed her life.  The other short stories in the book are all full of these moments, magic, where among other things lost relatives come home, quarrels are forgotten, Santa Claus finds you even snow bound on a train, and a cake delivered to the wrong address makes up for a Christmas alone.  But the real magic is in the people that live in Montgomery’s (and Anne’s) world.  Good natured, kind hearted, and human but willing to see the error of their ways.  Really the one thing I wanted to do when I finished reading this volume was go over to my shelf and start reading all the Anne books and then work my way through the rest of Montgomery’s work.

Readalikes:  Not holiday books, but Christy by Catherine Marshall has a lot in common with Anne, and A Girl of the  Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter was published around the same time and has at its center a determined young woman as well.

Review Excerpt: “Wilmshurst has selected tales as heartwarming as those set at Green Gables and beyond, and Montgomery’s fans are always ready for any new story that can be mustered from this fabled author’s pen.”–Kirkus Reviews

Reviewed from personal copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

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