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Springer, Nancy
17 Reviews
(4)
YA
Distanced from his family after his parents' divorce, Rig turns to the Internet to catch up on his older sister's life in college. What he finds is a disturbing website filled with photos of Kari taken in secret. When his mother dismisses his concerns, Rig asks for his estranged father's help to save Kari. A tight plot and brisk dialogue lead readers to a tidy, abrupt ending.
Reviewer: Rebecca Hachmyer
(2)
4-6
True to her previous adventures, Enola (Sherlock's sister) uncovers multiple social injustices lurking beneath the pomp of Victorian England. Enola, the quintessential spunky heroine, navigates the historical setting with the pluck of Nancy Drew but within the constraints of her upbringing. Springer takes time with her conclusion, letting this final series installment play out well and wrap up loose ends.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2010
(3)
YA
Jessie's brother is dead and her mother is comatose with grief. Yet when Jessie begins impersonating her brother, things begin to change. Are her actions a cry for help or something more disturbing? Stark, evocative narration keeps the pages of this ghost story turning.
Reviewer: Rebecca Hachmyer
(3)
YA
After years of emotional abuse, name changes, and sudden moves, Sherica starts questioning where she came from and why her father is always on the run. After discovering that she and her brother were abducted, she begins a life-altering journey to find her mother and set things right. The fast-moving plot and emotional impact make this book difficult to put down.
Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear
(3)
4-6
A Morse code message embroidered on a crinoline leads Enola Holmes to a kidnapper--and Florence Nightingale. Once again, the feisty fourteen-year-old detective matches wits with her older brother, and for the first time, Sherlock rethinks his "proper and traditional" plans for his "daredevil, oh-so-clever" sister. This fifth book in Springer's series is a riveting read, and it's Enola's strongest outing yet.
Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger
(3)
4-6
Enola Holmes bests older brother Sherlock once again after discovering that a vengeful patient whisked Dr. Watson away to an insane asylum. Springer's mystery whips along, her heroine's "syrupy young woman" disguise providing comic relief. Enola is her usual smart and spunky self here, continuing to dodge her supposed destiny as "an ornament for genteel society" in 1880s London.
Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger
(3)
4-6
A sixteen-year-old girl has been kidnapped for an arranged marriage, and both Enola Holmes and older brother Sherlock are in hot pursuit. Twenty-first-century sensibilities seep into Springer's latest mystery, but her character development shines, as feisty fourteen-year-old Enola explores her feelings about the mother who abandoned her, and her brothers--Sherlock and Mycroft--who want her to "conform to society’s expectations."
Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger
(4)
YA
When Medusa (Dusie) Gorgon wakes up with snakes for hair, the thirteen-year-old half-human discovers that her teen years might be extra complicated, considering a single look can turn people to stone. Parallels with the more conventional changes of adolescence are a trifle obvious, but Dusie's--and her snakes'--complex personalities will keep readers interested in this takeoff on Greek mythology.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
4-6
In this strong follow-up to The Case of the Missing Marquess, fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes takes on a case that big brother Sherlock won't deign to touch: Lady Cecily's scandalous disappearance with an unsavory suitor. Enola's spunk (she refuses to become "a singing, dancing, French-quoting, delicately fainting decoration") and smarts (she unmasks a Jekyll-and-Hyde-type villain) are sure to resonate with readers.
Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger
(3)
4-6
Accompanied by her loyal friends, Robin Hood's outlaw daughter, Rowan, journeys to the scene of her mother's murder, with plans for vengeance against the killers. The short book deals effectively with weighty ethical issues. With a fully realized forest setting and particularly strong characterizations of Rowan's friends and enemies, the story provides a fitting conclusion to the fantasy series.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(3)
4-6
The newest book in this series about a band of teens in Sherwood Forest led by Robin Hood's daughter, Rowan, focuses on Rook, the almost-feral wild boy. When the outlaws come to the aid of the Sheriff of Nottingham's son, Rook comes face-to-face with his own painful past and, in the process, learns how to live a full life again. This is a short, easy-to-read adventure with great appeal.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(3)
4-6
Springer's third Rowan Hood book focuses on Etty, a princess who joined Rowan's band of teen outlaws after running from an arranged marriage. Etty's cruel father imprisons his wife in a cage in the hope that the princess will turn herself in to free her mother. Marked by exciting action, interesting characters, and an intriguing moral dilemma, the short novel will appeal to reluctant readers as well as historical fiction fans.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(3)
4-6
Despite the subtitle, the heroine of Springer's previous novel about Robin Hood's daughter plays a minor (albeit important) role in this slim book. The story revolves around fifteen-year-old Lionel, the clumsy, effeminate, seven-foot bard in Rowan's band of outlaws, who can charm elves with his voice but refuses to learn how to fight properly. An exciting, easy-to-read addition to Robin Hood lore.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(2)
YA
Spanning the years of her youth and ending with her decision to bring her brother to ruin, this novel examines the events that cause Morgan to embark on a path of death and darkness. Introspective, yet threaded with intrigue and adventure, this compelling study of the legendary villainess explores the ways that love, hate, jealousy, and the desire for power shape one young woman's fate and affect the destiny of others.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2001
(2)
4-6
Donni and Trisha recount the painful time following their parents' divorce. Donni's account of her school troubles and bouts of rage are interspersed with Trisha's computer journal entries, which reveal a loneliness and a longing to reconnect with her younger sister. The resolution is speedy, but the characters' emotional lives are honestly portrayed. The novel's brevity and swift pace make it a good choice for reluctant readers.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2002
(3)
4-6
After the death of her mother, thirteen-year-old Rowan ventures deep into the forest to search for the father she has never met, who just happens to be Robin Hood. Accompanied by a wolf-like dog, the stout-hearted girl learns to depend upon her own abilities and soon has her own band of loyal followers. Although the legendary outlaw plays an important role, the entertaining story stays centered on Ro.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(2)
4-6
Told from the point of view of the villain Mordred, the illegitimate son and ultimate killer of King Arthur, the story engenders a feeling of some sympathy for Mordred, whose whole life's ambition is to be acknowledged by his father. The book is interesting for its portraits of a noble king who rules not the way he wants, but the way he must, and of a young man who cannot escape the workings of a malign fate.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
17 reviews
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