Sixteen-year-old Nat is a boxcar kid. Itâs the Dust Bowl era, and Nat has lost everything: his grandmother, his family home, and a sense of belonging. He hops trains across Texas in search of a place for himself amid so much loss. Outside of Amarillo, Nat feels a peculiar sensation, a tug from destiny, that pulls him toward the small town of Tanglewood. However, instead of finding a job and some much-needed food, he discovers Polly Jones, a teenager like himself, chained to a post with a sign above her reading, âThou shalt not suffer a witch.â
Nat canât bring himself to abandon her to the small-minded, fearful townsfolk and immediately becomes her protector until the arrival of Camille Renoir Lavendou, a local woman who operates Miss Camilleâs Home for Wayward Children. No one dares stop Camille from releasing Polly and taking both teens with her because Camille is reputed to be in the âwitchinâ businessâ herself. Natâs excitement at the prospect of food and a place to stay quickly turns to disbelief and wariness when he steps inside Camilleâs sanctuary. What he thought was a ploy on Camilleâs part to keep the nosey townsfolk at bay doesnât seem to be a trick at all when he meets those who are under Camilleâs care.
When Polly, too, begins to exhibit extraordinary abilities, Nat begins to feel like an outsider. Despite his limitations, Natâs intense loyalty quickly leads him into a much more dangerous situation, where his very life may lay in the balance.
For lovers of the paranormal, this novel will be a special treat. Miss Camilleâs Home for Wayward Children is a delight in every room. From books that magically fill with stories for a specific reader, to rooms with waterfalls and koi ponds, this realm of possibilities will leave the reader clambering for more and wanting to explore right along with Nat. Although the book would benefit from another round of editing, it is perhaps one of the most compelling novels we’ve read lately. The delight of discovery and fantastic description within the novel will inspire the many magical possibilities that await. While the surface of the plot is innocent, the theme beneath will undoubtedly satisfy.
Natâs story is one of belonging. Throughout his journey, he has the innate, human need for acceptance and home, not just a physical place to lay his head, but the real need for family and kinship. The Dust Bowl setting plays such an intricate role in this theme because so many Americans searched for what nature and man took from them, their place in the universe. Natâs story, though fictional, was played out in real-time for millions of people. He has lost everything, his family, his home, his identity. His search and subsequent finding of his place lead to a discovery of himself. Though he often feels he doesnât belong anywhere â not the boxcar, nor the tramp world, nor Camilleâs menagerie of unique people â Nat comes to see exactly who he is and of what he is capable. Although facing the potential of great danger, Camille, an African American, creates a home for all. She is warned multiple times that she cannot take in white children. Her love for all her âchildrenâ is colorblind. Her home is a haven and a place to discover their true identity. Acceptance takes center stage in this novel and leaves the reader wrapped in a cozy hug of belonging.
Manufactured Witches took home the Grand Prize in the 2019 CIBAs in the OZMA Awards for the Best Fantasy Fiction, and First in Category in the Dante Rossetti Awards the same year.
In the first several pages of Chasing Demons, a novel of the Old West not long after the American Civil War, the following happens to U.S. Army Private Gus OâGrady: he kills two Apache Indians, saves the lives of a troop of U.S. soldiers, kills two more Indians, kills a bad guy, winds up being mistaken for a man who may have robbed a bank of $20,000 in gold, and gets arrested for possibly being the man who raped a lass in an Arizona town populated by Mormons, and meets a woman he thinks is far too good for him. Oh yes, and he deserts the Army after 13 years.
Whispers by Lynn Yvonne Moon explores the issue of incest through the life of twelve-year-old Musetta, whose father has just died. We meet Musetta at her fatherâs funeral and realize that this girl is dealing with serious issues. Still, more than grief, sheâs filled with rage – and relief. And we cannot blame her. Whispers is filled with enough intrigue and family secrets to glue readers’ eyeballs to the page and hug their parents when they reach the end of the tale.
Award-winning author, Joy Ross Davisâ latest work, The Madwoman of Preacherâs Cove, ventures beyond the paranormal into the surreal. Like Medusa on a bad hair day, the lives of characters are intertwined and twisted in a snaky snarl of conflicting human desires, terrifying inexplicable events, and the lingering afterlives of ancient, supernatural beings.
In the second in a series by author Halverson, an aristocratic, intellectually curious young woman has fallen in love with a young physician, a commoner whose radical experimentations have jeopardized his reputation. The couple is just recovering from the professional and personal rigors of dealing with Londonâs plague victims when the city is overwhelmed by fire. Their services are needed now more than ever.
Renowned author and mother of a son with autism, Ellen Notbohm here writes from both a personal and a studied viewpoint.