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Ferris, Jean
9 Reviews
(4)
4-6
In this third installment, King Christian and Queen Marigold's new baby is kidnapped by the kingdom's former poisoner-in-chief and former torturer-in-chief. The two villains' adult children, librarian Phoebe and tinkerer Sebastian, recover the baby and fall in love with each other in the process. Saccharine romance and overly earnest life lessons don't detract too much from the creative fairy-tale plot and humorous dialogue.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
(3)
4-6
In this sequel to Once upon a Marigold, fairy-tale royals Christian and Marigold's new marriage turns rocky when evil Queen Olympia returns after a year of amnesia to make herself sole dictator. In response, the newlyweds foment a rebellion. Although earnest life lessons are laid on a bit heavy-handedly, the lighthearted humor and likable characters invite readers' sympathies.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
(3)
YA
Combining history, romance, and mystery, this compelling story of the Underground Railroad tackles serious themes maturely yet gently. Set in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, and very loosely based on historical figures, the story follows Charlotte Brown and her fellow runaway slaves through their provocative underground explorations and emotional evolution. While highly readable, the book requires some historical background.
Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth
(3)
4-6
Sixteen-year-old Arley runs a rooming house in the mining town of Grubstake, Colorado, in 1888. With the help of her group of sorry boarders, she figures out why rich developers suddenly show an interest in the tapped-out mines. The plot is far-fetched, but the colorful characters are likable and the humorously entertaining writing is engaging.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth
(2)
4-6
Christian ran away from home at six and has happily lived in the forest for eleven years. The girl next door happens to be a princess, and the two teens, kept apart by circumstance, correspond by carrier pigeon ("p-mail"). The lighthearted tale maintains the right balance of humor and sentimentality as the characters finally meet and discover their love is real. Forbidden love, secret identities, and a happy ending--what more could you ask?
Reviewer: Anne St. John
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2002
(2)
YA
The only hearing member of his family, high-school senior Theo has been burdened with the job of interpreter for most of his life. Most demanding is his mother, a famous sculptor whose imperious commands ensure that the family revolves around her. The novel is a moving exploration of the extraordinary demands a disability places on a family as well as the effects of an exceptionally strong personality on a household.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2001
(3)
YA
While attending summer rodeo school, John becomes friends with fellow bullrider Kit. When Kit is revealed to be gay, John faces long-suppressed feelings about his own sexuality. John's slow stumbling journey toward--but not actually to--self-acceptance is effectively charted in a book that's more substantial than the typical teenage problem novel because of its subtle characterizations and unusual western setting.
Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta
(2)
YA
A botched armed robbery set up by a duplicitous boyfriend lands sixteen-year-old Dallas in the Girls' Rehabilitation Center. Dallas's problems with her emotionally distant father, a single parent, are well realized, and the other girls at the rehab center are individualized and realistically portrayed in this novel that is tentatively optimistic, yet grounded, in its resolution.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 1999
(2)
4-6
Take a wealthy, sheltered young man, add two conniving uncles with a murderous plot, a convalescent home full of eccentric characters, and four comatose patients (including a pet chicken), and you have the recipe for a rollicking screwball-comedy of a story. Beginning with "once upon a time," and ending "as happily ever after as real life will allow," the imaginative novel incorporates nonmagical fairy-tale elements and down-to-earth details.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 1999
9 reviews
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