Publishers Weekly The intrepid Nancy Drew has given girls a sense of their own power since she was born, Athena-like, from the mind of Edward Stratemeyer in 1929 and raised after his death in 1930 by his daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Mildred Wirt Benson, a journalist who was the first to write the novels under the pen name Carolyn Keene. Poet and critic Rehak invigorates all the players in the Drew story, and it's truly fun to see behind the scenes of the girl sleuth's creation, her transformation as different writers took on the series, and the publishing phenomenon-the highly productive Stratemeyer Syndicate machine-that made her possible. Rehak's most ambitious choice is to reflect on how Nancy Drew mirrors girls' lives and the ups and downs of the women's movement. This approach is compelling, but not particularly well executed. Rehak's breathless prose doesn't do justice to the complexity of the large social trends she describes, and tangents into Feminism 101 derail the story that really works-the life of a publishing juggernaut. All the same, Stratemeyer himself would undoubtedly say that the story is worth telling. Drew fans are likely to agree. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Agent, the Wylie Agency. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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Choice In 1975, on the rebound from writing a dissertation on Vladimir Nabokov, Bobbie Ann Mason wrote The Girl Sleuth, in which she provided a feminist discussion of the literary girl sleuth who has fascinated generations of readers. At least a half dozen other books followed Mason's pioneering study (e.g., Nancy Drew and Company, ed. by Sherrie Inness, CH, Dec'97, 35-1995), and an entire academic conference was devoted to Nancy Drew in 1993. Rehak (a poet and freelance critic) focuses on Mildred Augustine and Harriet Stratemeyer, the creators of the Nancy Drew character. Augustine wrote many of the books, following a formula provided by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packager that offered this and other juvenile series. Stratemeyer, as head of the syndicate after the death of her father, guarded Nancy Drew jealously and sometimes conflicted with Augustine. Based on thorough archival research, Rehak's book is fascinating and readable. Particularly valuable are the historical and literary contexts the author builds for each decade of the 20th century; this material serves as background for the story of the two authors, for the issues facing women at that time, and for attitudes toward children's literature. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. E. R. Baer Gustavus Adolphus College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

Book list For 75 years, reading Nancy Drew mysteries has been a literary rite of passage for millions of young girls. In this lively offering, poet and critic Rehak tells the tale of the creative trio behind the celebrated pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Children's book mogul Edward Stratemeyer powered the extraordinarily successful Stratemeyer Syndicate (the character of Nancy Drew, the copper-haired teen sleuth who tackled cases with passion and panache, was but one of his creations, which included the Bobbsey Twins and the Hardy Boys). His daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, was the well-to-do mother of two who took over the business upon his death. ?And enterprising Iowa journalist Mildred Wirt Benson, the original voice of Nancy Drew, devoted decades of her life to ghostwriting titles for the series. Both Harriet and Mildred were talented, driven women who challenged the domestic labels affixed to them. Even at the age of 93, Mildred was described as having "a tangle of white curls and the dismissive air of Robert DeNiro." Packed with revealing anecdotes, Rehak's meticulously researched account of the publishing phenomenon that survived the Depression and WWII (and was even feted by feminists in the 1960s) will delight fans of the beloved gumshoe whose gumption guaranteed that every reprobate got his due. Read this alongside Greenwald's The Secret of the Hardy Boys 0 (2004), about another Stratemeyer ghostwriter, Leslie McFarlane, the voice of the first 16 Hardy Boys novels. --Allison Block Copyright 2005 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Library Journal The story behind everyone's favorite girl sleuth. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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School Library Journal Adult/High School-As much a social history of the times as a book about the popular series, this is a fun title that will appeal to older teens who remember the series fondly. In 1930, she arrived in her shiny blue roadster and she has remained a part of the children's book scene ever since. While Nancy may have been the brainchild of Edward Stratemeyer, creator of the successful Stratemeyer Syndicate, it was the devotion of Harriet, his daughter, and syndicate writer Mildred Wirt Benson who brought her to life. The series succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams but things were not always peaceful in River Heights. Rehak does a good job of explaining the intricacies of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and the sometimes-rocky relationship between these two strong women, each of whom felt a sense of ownership of the girl detective. Those who followed the many adventures of Nancy Drew and her friends will be fascinated with the behind-the-scene stories of just who Carolyn Keene really was.-Peggy Bercher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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Book list *Starred Review* Look beyond the title and cover art: Taylor's three novellas form a triptych of beautiful fantasy writing reminiscent of Charles de Lint and Neil Gaiman. Kisses are the unifying theme, with each story offering a different sort of locking lips, from giddy seduction to harsh power play. In Goblin Fruit, misfit Kizzy meets a fascinating new student, an unbelievably gorgeous young man who ignores the popular girls to seek her out. Taylor tantalizingly foreshadows the ambiguous ending, teasing and enticing the reader much as Jack Husk entices Kizzy. Spicy Little Curses Such as These is set in India and offers intriguing and culturally respectful glimpses of both Indian religion and British colonialism. Hatchling reveals a fully realized world of sometimes malevolent immortals who steal and raise human babies as their pets. Present-day teen sensibilities blend with artful allusions to mythology and magic, pulling the reader into rich fantasy realms. The cover's close-up of a lovely woman's red lips, with red-orange flames licking at the superimposed title, lacks the powerful, delicately structured, and subtle poetry of Taylor's stories. But Di Bartolo, Taylor's husband, provides skillfully detailed pen-and-ink illustrations that are a fine match for the lyrical, romantic text.--Carton, Debbie Copyright 2009 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

School Library Journal Gr 9 Up-Drawing inspiration from Christina Rossetti's "The Goblin Market," the era of the British Raj, and mythology associated with Zarathustra, Taylor has created three novellas in which a kiss precipitates major life-altering, but not necessarily happy, events for the story's heroine. The lurid cover, featuring a young woman whose full red lips may have just a tiny hint of blood at their corners, is sure to attract teens who can't get enough stories featuring vampires or other supernatural creatures. "Goblin Fruit" shares with Rossetti's poem the theme of a young girl saving her sister from a goblin's alluring unseasonal fruit. "Spicy Little Curses Such as These" tells of an English widow in Jaipur whose bargain with the devil at the time of her young husband's death required her to lay a curse of silence on an English baby. When the child grows up, she falls in love with a soldier who has survived the horrors of World War I and is determined not to lose his newfound love to her belief in folk superstition. "Hatchling" tells of the involvement of Esme's mother, Mab, with the shape-changing Druj. Mab, who was kept by their queen as a personal pet until she reached childbearing age, believes she has managed to protect her daughter from the same fate until Esme wakes on the morning of her 14th birthday to the howling of wolves in London. This book will find an audience with fans of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series and of graphic novels.-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Publishers Weekly Taylor offers a powerful trio of tales, each founded upon the consequences of a kiss. She explores the potentially awkward conceit in three dramatically different fantasies, each featuring a young female protagonist out of place in the world she inhabits: contemporary Kizzy, who so yearns to be a normal, popular teenager that she forgets the rules of her Old Country upbringing and is seduced by a goblin in disguise; Anamique, living in British colonial India, silenced forever due to a spell cast upon her at birth; and Esme, who at 14 discovers she is host to another-nonhuman-being. The stories build in complexity and intensity, culminating in the breathtaking "Hatchling," which opens with a spectacularly gripping prologue ("Esme swayed on her feet. These weren't her memories. This wasn't her eye"). Each is, in vividly distinctive fashion, a mesmerizing love story that comes to a satisfying but never predictable conclusion. Di Bartolo's illustrations provide tantalizing visual preludes to each tale, which are revealed as the stories unfold. Even nonfantasy lovers will find themselves absorbed by Taylor's masterful, elegant work. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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School Library Journal Gr 3-6-Weitzman recounts the construction of a boat made for the Pharaoh Cheops and discusses its rediscovery and restoration in the 20th century. He weaves the history, texts, mythology, and customs of ancient Egypt into an effective narrative, drawing readers in through the processes used to build the vessel, which the Egyptians believed would guide Cheops to the afterlife. This step-by-step presentation breathes life into the history, shedding light on the motives and methods employed by the craftsmen. In addition, the author records the accomplishments of Egyptologist Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, revealing his passion and problem-solving abilities, such as visiting local boat builders in an attempt to decipher how to reconstruct the artifacts. The volume's stylized illustrations are inspired by the two-dimensional depictions from ancient Egyptian art. The paintings' earth tones, accentuated by bright greens and blues, are both appropriate for the subject matter and pleasing to the eye; the boat becomes more complete with each turn of the page. Finally, foldout pages reveal the pharaoh's boat in full restoration. Visual aids clarify the use and function of a toggle, an adze, a bow drill, etc. Pharaoh's Boat offers a unique glimpse into a common activity in ordinary ancient Egyptian life (boat building) instead of being just another book about mummies and pyramids.-Jeff Meyer, Slater Public Library, IA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list *Starred Review* Part mystery, part ancient history, this handsome book takes readers back in time, first to 1954, when workmen at the Great Pyramid of Giza notice a wall that seems to hide something. Then it's back to the reign of the pharaoh Cheops, who needs a boat to take him to the afterlife. In precise yet at times almost poetic language, Weitzman explains the whys of building a vessel for the pharaoh and in amazing textual and illustrative detail shows the ways it was accomplished everything from the tools used to the placement and lashing of the timbers. After the boat was finished, it was then taken apart and put in carved lime pits, the pieces carefully layered for easy reassembly by Cheops as he embarked upon his journey. It was this careful protection that allowed the preserved boat to be rediscovered in 1954 and, under the direction of the Restoration Department of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, reconstructed. An interesting sidelight explains the struggle the chief of that department had getting a job there as an Egyptian. Skillful illustrations, many in the style of hieroglyphics, some in contemporary settings, demand attention. The typeface is small, but readers will be so intrigued it won't deter them from this fascinating mix of archaeology and technology.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2009 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Book list *Starred Review* Part mystery, part ancient history, this handsome book takes readers back in time, first to 1954, when workmen at the Great Pyramid of Giza notice a wall that seems to hide something. Then it's back to the reign of the pharaoh Cheops, who needs a boat to take him to the afterlife. In precise yet at times almost poetic language, Weitzman explains the whys of building a vessel for the pharaoh and in amazing textual and illustrative detail shows the ways it was accomplished everything from the tools used to the placement and lashing of the timbers. After the boat was finished, it was then taken apart and put in carved lime pits, the pieces carefully layered for easy reassembly by Cheops as he embarked upon his journey. It was this careful protection that allowed the preserved boat to be rediscovered in 1954 and, under the direction of the Restoration Department of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, reconstructed. An interesting sidelight explains the struggle the chief of that department had getting a job there as an Egyptian. Skillful illustrations, many in the style of hieroglyphics, some in contemporary settings, demand attention. The typeface is small, but readers will be so intrigued it won't deter them from this fascinating mix of archaeology and technology.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2009 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

School Library Journal K Up The theme here is, ``be happy with who you are,'' or maybe, ``there's no free lunch.'' Al, a janitor, lives a meager existence with his companion (dog) Eddie in New York City. They complain to each other about their lot and are ready to take off to a better place with a huge bird who just pops in and invites them. This ``island in the sky'' is perfect. All its inhabitants are friendly birds, and there's nothing to do but enjoy the tropical paradise. But when they both begin to sprout feathers and beaks, they realize that there is a price to pay, so they take off, Icarus-styleincluding a plunge into New York Harbor. Safely home, they discover that ``Paradise lost is sometimes Heaven found.'' Egielski's solid naturalism provides just the visual foil needed to establish the surreal character of this fantasy. The muted earth tones of the one-room flat contrast symbolically with the bright hues of the birds' plumage and the foliage of the floating paradise. The anatomical appropriateness of Al and Eddie plays neatly against the flamboyant depiction of the plants. Text and pictures work together to challenge readers' concept of reality, with touches such as the stacks of delivered newspapers outside Al's door when he returns fromhis ``dream''? Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus

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Book list Al, a modest janitor, and his dog Eddie are spirited away to a wonderful new life by a mysterious bird, but they soon learn that paradise has its price and home has its rewards. Energetic, thought-provoking illustrations. The 1987 Caldecott Medal Book. (Ja 1 87)

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Book list Gr. 2-4. Al and his dog, Eddie, learn that the grass is not always greener even in paradise in this rich blending of picture and story. (Ja 1 87)

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly The Pulitzer-winning biographer of Nicholas and Alexandra and of Peter the Great, Massie now relates the life of a minor German princess, Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, who became Empress Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796). She was related through her ambitious mother to notable European royalty; her husband-to-be, the Russian grand duke Peter, was the only living grandson of Peter the Great. As Massie relates, during her disastrous marriage to Peter, Catherine bore three children by three different lovers, and she and Peter were controlled by Peter's all-powerful aunt, Empress Elizabeth, who took physical possession of Catherine's firstborn, Paul. Six months into her husband's incompetent reign as Peter III, Catherine, 33, who had always believed herself superior to her husband, dethroned him, but probably did not plan his subsequent murder, though, Massie writes, a shadow of suspicion hung over her. Confident, cultured, and witty, Catherine avoided excesses of personal power and ruled as a benevolent despot. Magnifying the towering achievements of Peter the Great, she imported European culture into Russia, from philosophy to medicine, education, architecture, and art. Effectively utilizing Catherine's own memoirs, Massie once again delivers a masterful, intimate, and tantalizing portrait of a majestic monarch. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Library Journal As with his past best-selling biographies of Russian elites, Pulitzer Prize winner Massie (Peter the Great) does a wonderful job of pulling readers into his narrative, this one taking us into 18th-century Russia and the life of a young German princess, born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst, destined to change the course of her adopted country's history. From the young Sophie's journey to Russia at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth to her death after 34 years on the Russian throne (1762-96), readers will be absorbed and in sympathy with Massie's Catherine. His engaging narrative informs and entertains, covering everything from Catherine's friendships, marriage to Peter III, love affairs, political and intellectual beliefs, and attempts to reform the country according to ideals of the Enlightenment (she corresponded with many Enlightenment figures), to her reactions to major world events including the American Revolution and the Reign of Terror in France. VERDICT This book is aimed at the nonspecialist, as Massie does not present new sources or new angles of research. But it's a gripping narrative for general biography or Russian tsarist history buffs, an excellent choice for public, high school, and undergraduate libraries. [See Prepub Alert, 5/9/11.]-Sonnet Ireland, Univ. of New Orleans Lib. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra consumed my 30th year, and I'm very happy to report that the Pulitzer Prize winner's new biography of Russia's longest-ruling female leader is doing the same for my 55th. While the books and their subjects inextricably inform one another, they are very different. Nicholas and Alexandra recounted the end of an empire and destruction of a family; Catherine the Great, on the other hand, got pretty much everything she wanted, whether it was the expansion of the Russian Empire's borders or the creation of the era's richest collection of art (Catherine built the Hermitage) or the friendship of such Enlightenment leaders as Voltaire and Diderot. She had three children, perhaps none by her hapless husband, and an almost continuous stream of lovers, dispatching one kindly and with gifts before taking on another. When it came to ruling, she did it Her Way: asked by her adult son Paul for more governmental responsibility, she replied, "I do not think your entrance into the Council would be desirable. You must be patient until I change my mind." Massie gracefully moves between considerations of Catherine's life and character and the political and military changes that were reshaping Europe during the last quarter of the 18th century. He is never stodgy but always dignified, carefully illuminating the facts so that readers can discover for themselves just what a badass Catherine really was. Roger Sutton has spent the last 15 years as editor-in-chief of The Horn Book. Follow him on Twitter @RogerReads. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly The Pulitzer-winning biographer of Nicholas and Alexandra and of Peter the Great, Massie now relates the life of a minor German princess, Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, who became Empress Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796). She was related through her ambitious mother to notable European royalty; her husband-to-be, the Russian grand duke Peter, was the only living grandson of Peter the Great. As Massie relates, during her disastrous marriage to Peter, Catherine bore three children by three different lovers, and she and Peter were controlled by Peter's all-powerful aunt, Empress Elizabeth, who took physical possession of Catherine's firstborn, Paul. Six months into her husband's incompetent reign as Peter III, Catherine, 33, who had always believed herself superior to her husband, dethroned him, but probably did not plan his subsequent murder, though, Massie writes, a shadow of suspicion hung over her. Confident, cultured, and witty, Catherine avoided excesses of personal power and ruled as a benevolent despot. Magnifying the towering achievements of Peter the Great, she imported European culture into Russia, from philosophy to medicine, education, architecture, and art. Effectively utilizing Catherine's own memoirs, Massie once again delivers a masterful, intimate, and tantalizing portrait of a majestic monarch. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Book list *Starred Review* The popularity of Massie's biographies of Russian czars presages a comparable reception for his presentation of Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, as Catherine the Great was originally named. She appeals to readers for several reasons. Those interested in the expansion and development of the Russian Empire under her reign (1762-96) can delve into her conduct of war and diplomacy, cultivation of Enlightenment notables, and attempted reforms of law and government. And those fascinated by the intimate intrigues of dynasties will find an extraordinary example in Catherine's ascent from minor German princess to absolute autocrat of Russia. Court life is Massie's strong suit, though, which he develops with a well-referenced thoroughness that begins with Catherine's own account (The Memoirs of Catherine the Great, Mark Cruse, ed., 2005) of surviving palace politics as consort to the eccentric and disliked crown prince, Paul. The memoir, which suspends in 1758, alludes to another aspect of Catherine that tantalizes royalty readers, her liaisons with courtiers, most famously, Grigory Potemkin. Massie's treatment of them proves sympathetically perceptive to Catherine's warmth and her estrangement from them, humanizing the real woman behind the imperial persona. Written dramatically and almost visually, Massie's Catherine may attain the classic status that his Peter the Great (1980) and Nicholas and Alexandra (1967) already have.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Library Journal A baby survives the killing of his family by a mysterious assassin. He crawls to a nearby graveyard and is adopted by the assortment of spooks who occupy the place, soon to include his own recently murdered parents. There he is christened with a new name: Nobody, or Bod for short. Under the watchful tutelage of the dead, Bod learns reading, writing, history, and a few other useful skills-haunting and "disapparating" [disappearing from a location and reappearing in another]. Why It Is a Best: An elegant combination of Gaiman's masterly storytelling and McKean's lovely drawings, this book also works as a series of independent but connected short stories set two years apart, following Bod from age two to 16. Why It Is for Us: In interviews, Gaiman has said that this book took him years to write, and it was worth the wait. Imagine Kipling's The Jungle Book set among a forest of graves. A complete recording of Gaiman reading the book is available on his web site; see also LJ's video with the author from BEA 2008.-Angelina Benedetti, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

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Publishers Weekly A lavish middle-grade novel, Gaiman's first since Coraline, this gothic fantasy almost lives up to its extravagant advance billing. The opening is enthralling: "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." Evading the murderer who kills the rest of his family, a child roughly 18 months old climbs out of his crib, bumps his bottom down a steep stairway, walks out the open door and crosses the street into the cemetery opposite, where ghosts take him in. What mystery/horror/suspense reader could stop here, especially with Gaiman's talent for storytelling? The author riffs on the Jungle Book, folklore, nursery rhymes and history; he tosses in werewolves and hints at vampires--and he makes these figures seem like metaphors for transitions in childhood and youth. As the boy, called Nobody or Bod, grows up, the killer still stalking him, there are slack moments and some repetition--not enough to spoil a reader's pleasure, but noticeable all the same. When the chilling moments do come, they are as genuinely frightening as only Gaiman can make them, and redeem any shortcomings. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

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Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions Inc. Terms

School Library Journal : Gr 4-6-Mike is convinced that the neighborhood monastery, complete with ancient rock tower and 13 graves, is home to cannibalistic monks, who are cousins to vampires and whose favorite meals are 10-year-old boys. With three months to go until his 11th birthday, he suffers night fears and the dares of friends to climb the narrow wall that encircles the castlelike building until he actually meets its sole occupant-kindly, elderly Father Lawrence, a vegetarian. The unlikely friendship that follows underscores the theme of knowledge dissipating fear. While the story has the contemporary appeal of vampires and is told with some humor, it is a slight offering with little character or plot development. The narrow focus makes it predictable; Mike's one concern is too meager to sustain readers' interest for the duration of the book. And the boy may in fact not learn much from his friendship with the priest. In a humorous twist at the end of the story, 13 nuns move into the monastery, causing Mike great relief that now 10-year-old girls must beware.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME

Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions Inc. Terms

School Library Journal : Gr 4-6-Mike is convinced that the neighborhood monastery, complete with ancient rock tower and 13 graves, is home to cannibalistic monks, who are cousins to vampires and whose favorite meals are 10-year-old boys. With three months to go until his 11th birthday, he suffers night fears and the dares of friends to climb the narrow wall that encircles the castlelike building until he actually meets its sole occupant-kindly, elderly Father Lawrence, a vegetarian. The unlikely friendship that follows underscores the theme of knowledge dissipating fear. While the story has the contemporary appeal of vampires and is told with some humor, it is a slight offering with little character or plot development. The narrow focus makes it predictable; Mike's one concern is too meager to sustain readers' interest for the duration of the book. And the boy may in fact not learn much from his friendship with the priest. In a humorous twist at the end of the story, 13 nuns move into the monastery, causing Mike great relief that now 10-year-old girls must beware.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME

Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions Inc. Terms

School Library Journal : Gr 4-6-Mike is convinced that the neighborhood monastery, complete with ancient rock tower and 13 graves, is home to cannibalistic monks, who are cousins to vampires and whose favorite meals are 10-year-old boys. With three months to go until his 11th birthday, he suffers night fears and the dares of friends to climb the narrow wall that encircles the castlelike building until he actually meets its sole occupant-kindly, elderly Father Lawrence, a vegetarian. The unlikely friendship that follows underscores the theme of knowledge dissipating fear. While the story has the contemporary appeal of vampires and is told with some humor, it is a slight offering with little character or plot development. The narrow focus makes it predictable; Mike's one concern is too meager to sustain readers' interest for the duration of the book. And the boy may in fact not learn much from his friendship with the priest. In a humorous twist at the end of the story, 13 nuns move into the monastery, causing Mike great relief that now 10-year-old girls must beware.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME

Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions Inc. Terms

...More

Book list *Starred Review* A tinker is a mender, and in Harding's spellbinding debut, he imagines the old, mendable horse-and-carriage world. The objects of the past were more readily repaired than our electronics, but the living world was a mystery, as it still is, as it always will be. And so in this rhapsodic novel of impending death, Harding considers humankind's contrary desires to conquer the imps of disorder and to be one with life, fully meshed within the great glimmering web. In the present, George lies on his death bed in the Massachusetts house he built himself, surrounded by family and the antique clocks he restores. George loves the precision of fine timepieces, but now he is at the mercy of chaotic forces and seems to be channeling his late father, Howard, a tinker and a mystic whose epileptic seizures strike like lightning. Howard, in turn, remembers his strange and gentle minister father. Each man is extraordinarily porous to nature and prone to becoming unhitched from everyday human existence and entering a state of ecstasy, even transcendence. Writing with breathtaking lyricism and tenderness, Harding has created a rare and beautiful novel of spiritual inheritance and acute psychological and metaphysical suspense.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2008 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly Harding's outstanding debut unfurls the history and final thoughts of a dying grandfather surrounded by his family in his New England home. George Washington Crosby repairs clocks for a living and on his deathbed revisits his turbulent childhood as the oldest son of an epileptic smalltime traveling salesman. The descriptions of the father's epilepsy and the "cold halo of chemical electricity that encircled him immediately before he was struck by a full seizure" are stunning, and the household's sadness permeates the narrative as George returns to more melancholy scenes. The real star is Harding's language, which dazzles whether he's describing the workings of clocks, sensory images of nature, the many engaging side characters who populate the book, or even a short passage on how to build a bird nest. This is an especially gorgeous example of novelistic craftsmanship. (Jan.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

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Library Journal George Washington Crosby has eight days to live. After this first line, the life of George and of his father, Howard, who left when George was 12, is explored through the metaphor of George's hobby of repairing clocks. Howard was a peddler, traveling with a cart and mule through eastern Maine around the turn of the century. This isolated profession allowed him to keep his affliction, epilepsy, successfully hidden from most everyone until, finally, his wife decides he has to be institutionalized for the safety of her children. It is to avoid this that Howard disappears. George, as he lays dying, considers his life and family coming in and out of reality and history. Harding, an MFA from Iowa Writer's Workshop, creates a beautifully written study of father-son relationships and the nature of time. This short work is a solid addition for larger literary collections. Recommended.--Josh Cohen, Mid-Hudson Lib. Syst., Poughkeepsie, NY Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

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