High School

As an avid Chestertonian, I am frequently asked which G.K. Chesterton title I recommend for young people to read.

ISBN # 1-59286-802-9

After the death of her mother, a young woman, Robin, must travel from her home in California to a small town in Wisconsin to live with an uncle she never knew existed. She is angry and determined to escape as soon as she turns eighteen, which will be very soon. Almost immediately upon her arrival mysterious things begin to happen. She moves into the room her mother lived in as a young woman and learns a lot about her mother by going through her things. Evidently her mother kept many other secrets, besides having a brother, from her.

Also known as I Am David (now a major motion picture as well)
Translated from the Danish by L.W. Kingsland

This is a simple, lovely work, of fine literary quality, about a thoroughly modern brother and sister and their blunt Ukrainian maid, who feels out-of-place in London and misses having a "good place" in the kitchen. A good place, according to Marta is something like this: "In my home, Ukrainian home, we make a good place...A place on top of cupboard, perhaps, or perhaps on shelf. Little place but it holy because we keep there Our Lady and Holy Child." When questioned by the children, she explained further. It wasn't a statue and not a picture. "Like picture but more beautiful.

Continuing in the Jordon family series, this story (Book Three) is based on Peter's, Gwen's, and Alice's love lives. Though each have their own steady dates, (who all happen to be away), they go out with other people and everything ends up in one big mess! Peter goes out with the wrong girl and Gwen gets married, but not to the man she was initially engaged to marry. Alice, like a movie director, keeps everything flowing and everyone informed while her own love life is churning.

Welcome to the Jordon household of "Army Brats!" Jennifer is a spunky young girl of 16 years left in charge of eight military drilled younger brothers and sisters, while their father, General Jordon, is overseas on duty.

Young David has grown up in an isolated cabin with his father (since his mother's death when he was only four) in a beautiful mountain setting. There, his father has given him an excellent but unusual education - he is fluent in several languages, knows a great deal about science and nature and plays the violin beautifully. His father has sheltered him from all evil and taught him only what is good and beautiful.

Her Eskimo name is Miyax, her American name is Julie. She is journeying through the desolate North Slope of Alaska, from Barrow to Point Hope, and starving. There are no lemmings, which means there are no weasels, no white foxes, no snowy owls - in fact, no food that Miyax can catch with only a knife. Her only hope for survival, she feels, is to befriend the wolves, to become a member of their pack, and this she sets out to do.

Described as "a historical fantasy", this story is about the Roman town of Iscium, located in western Britain. As the Roman influence and protection disappears, the town leadership bends over backwards to stay out of the limelight and avoid trouble with the Saxons.

I have to be perfectly honest. I didn't expect to like this book. The idea of an overtly Catholic fantasy-adventure story trying to make it's way into the genre dominated by Harry Potter? Well... I skeptically picked up the book and read four or five chapters the night it arrived in the mail. It seemed interesting but things didn't seem to be making much sense yet. I picked it up again the next day and the plot thickened. A few more chapters and I was hooked.