Hannah's Winter by Kierin Meehan. Loved it! A 12 year old girl from Australia ends up spending the winter in Japan with friends of her mother. She and her friends turn out to be part of an "old story" that belongs to Kai, an 8 year old boy who died during the Edo period. I loved the imagery, the culture, the Japanese words scattered here and there. Such a fun story/adventure. Loved it. And, while finding this picture I found a great site www.commonsensemedia.org where they have great reviews. Feeling super lucky right now. :)

The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson. We all know I love Eva Ibbotson's books. This used to be called Magic Flutes, a name that suites it very well. Like all of her books it includes opera, art, music... it is fun for me to imagine that life. It is set in Vienna after WWI when the city is barely recovering. The main character is a Princess that loves art and hides her identity to "work" for a sinking opera company (she works, but they don't pay her). There is plenty of beautiful homes and clothes and a snobby English lady... and I am always a sucker for happy endings. :)

The Great and the Terrible, Volume 1. Prologue: The Brothers, by Chris Stewart. I first heard about this book over a year ago,, but I was a little skeptical. I don't always like to read an author's interpretation of a gospel topic. I would rather stick to the scriptures. But when DiAnn and Randy recommended it, how could I go wrong. So far I have only read the first book of the series, but I loved it. The book is about the pre-existence and the war in heaven. It really brings home how horrible it must have been to see our own brother rebel against Heavenly Father and the Savior. So sad. I really enjoyed the way it portrayed pre-earth life. I also loved the characters and can't wait to read the rest of the books. I was going to buy them for myself for Christmas, but I forgot. Don't worry, I still bought plenty of new books. :)

Dragon Slippers, Jessica Day George. Hurray for Utah authors, especially Utah housewife authors. A delightful book about an orphaned girl who's aunt offered her to a dragon hoping that a nobleman would rescue her and marry her and help her struggling relatives. Even though a dragon hadn't been seen for ages, it turns out that there are still dragons and Creel might need to be saved. Or she might end up saving everyone else. Very fun trilogy including Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear. One thing the books brought up nicely was the idiocy of racism, in this case against dragons, and how "hard" it is to let it go for some, shall we say uneducated, souls. Others, on the other hand, like the Prince... easily let go of past prejudices once they learn the truth. So, hey, don't be a dragon hater.

The Earthkeepers, Marilyn Brown. I read this book as a teen and thought I loved it. It reminds me of my mom because apparently we went with her to meet the author, it is signed. So I was anticipating a great read. It is a horrible book! I can't believe I liked it before. It is about the Saints who settled Provo. Pretty much everyone dies, every horrible thing that can happen, happens. Hard, hard times. Very sad book.

Austenland, Shannon Hale. This re-read was a blast. I found the book double the pleasure the second time. It was somehow so much funnier the second time. I am not sure how I missed so much the first time. I want to go to Austenland, with my husband of course.

The Cry of the Crow, Jean Craighead George. By the same author of Julie and the Wolves this was a book right up my ally. A girl has a crow as a pet and the book explores the brilliance of crows and how much they can learn/do. My only complaint is how the book ends. Throughout the entire book the story was building towards the climax then the author zips through the it in one paragraph. A little unsettling.