Dante's Daughter by Kimberley Heuston

Goodreads: Dante’s Daughter

Series: None

Published: 2004

Source: Library

Summary: Antonia Alighieri’s world turns upside down when the Black Guelfs invade Florence and force her family into exile.  Separated from her mother and her brothers, Antonia travels with her father, the famous poet Dante, through Italy and France.  The people she meets and the places she experiences will help her find her own place in the world and give her the courage to follow her dreams.

Review: Heuston paints a vivid picture of pre-Renaissance Italy, taking the few known facts about Antonia’s life and transforming them into a story sure to inspire readers and warm their hearts.  Though she writes about the daughter of a man who will one day be recognized as one of the world’s greatest poets, Heuston does not allow Dante—or the political forces surrounding him—to overshadow her protagonist.  Anotonia has her own life, her own needs, and her own vision.  Her navigation through adolescence and young adulthood in a male-dominated world will resonate with readers long after they close the book.

Since historians know so little about Dante’s family, Heuston had a liberal amount of poetic license with which to work while writing Dante’s Daughter.  My limited understanding of Dante suggests, however, that Heuston stayed remarkably true to those facts even while she used them to make assumptions about the way in which events may have unfolded.  Thus, Heuston utilizes speculations about an unhappy marriage between Dante and his wife Gemma (in part due to his poetry about another woman—Beatrice) to create a fully three-dimensional woman who feels hurt by her husband’s emotional betrayal yet still provides for her family and their interests.  The dynamic between them drives a lot of the story and provides for some interesting speculations about the how a man so preoccupied by intellectual pursuits may have related to others.

Dante springs to life as a complex man who loves his family, but whose idealism and divine inspiration sometimes cause him to neglect the worldly sorts of tasks that might keep them fed and clothed.  Antonia loves her father in return and craves his affection and protection, but finds that he has difficulty relating to her.  In part, the book suggests, Dante lived too much on his own to understand the needs of others, especially children.  However, Dante does not only experience difficulty in speaking to Antonia simply because she is a child, but also because she is a woman.  She, like him, possesses a quick wit and a keen sensitivity for beauty, but she lacks his education.  There exists between them a fundamental inability to communicate because Dante thinks in terms of the great poets and philosophers who came before him—and Antonia does not yet know them all.

Dante’s attitude toward his family—particularly his wife and daughter—thus serves as a springboard for reflections on gender roles.  As the daughter of a great poet, Antonia will learn Latin, hear the stories from Virgil, and even learn to paint.  However, she remains a woman, and society expects her not to create great art like her father, but to make a home and care for a family.  She does not deny this calling, or even its validity (Antonia’s aunt in fact provides a lively defense of the occupation of women in her society, asserting that men can accomplish so much intellectual work only because the woman take care of their practical needs).  However, she does recognize her need to find her own calling, rather than to follow the path laid out for her by others.

Heuston’s nuanced and varied depiction of woman is completely refreshing.  She presents a wide spectrum of strong women, from Antonia’s aunt who loves being a wife and mother to the Beguines, a group of lay Christian women who lived apart from men and could earn their own livelihood.  All of these women have different gifts and different strengths; Heuston does not assert the primacy of one vocation over another, but illustrates the various ways women can serve God and others.  Antonia ultimately takes the best from all these women, forging her own destiny where she can love freely and be true to herself.

Dante's Daughter possesses a rare beauty, bringing to life a fascinating woman who chose to accept her struggles and use them to make herself stronger.  This book will leave readers feeling refreshed and inspired.

Habemus Papam!: Pope Benedict XVI by Regina Doman, Illustrated by Sean Lam

Goodreads: Habemus Papam!

Series: None

Published: 2012

Source: Borrowed

Summary: Growing up in Bavaria, Josef Ratzinger finds his faith tested daily as the Nazis shut down schools, force the young men into the army, and persecute Christians and Jews.  However, he places his trust in God and fulfills his dream of becoming a priest.  Josef enjoys his new life teaching and longs to spend his days as a scholar, but God still calls and His plan is larger than anything Josef could have imagined.

Review: Doman and Lam’s manga presents a biography of the pope in a manner both fun and accessible.  Benedict  XVI, or, as he was known before receiving the call to lead the Catholic Church as the Vicar of Christ, Josef Ratzinger, comes to life on the page, no distant figure waving from a balcony, but a flesh-and-blood man who faced terrible opposition in  his journey to become a priest but never lost his faith.  Readers will not only learn interesting facts about the pope (for instance, he loves cats) but will also feel themselves inspired by the example of man who placed all his trust in God, even when he feared the road God might set him on.

I have never read manga before, so I can only judge Habemus Papam! on its own merits.  I thought the illustrations were very well done.  Some beautiful Catholic architecture made appearances and the level of detail (for example, a glimpse of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) gave the story a sense of realism.  The range of emotion exhibited by the characters also helped draw me into the story.  I especially enjoyed the young Josef—there is an adorable picture of him sitting with his teddy bear—and found myself marveling that the pope was ever a child who got into trouble and fought with his siblings.  The fact that the pope likes cats became a sort of recurring theme, so it was fun to pick out all the cats in the pictures. 

Enjoyable as the illustrations were, however, I never felt that they were integral to the telling of the story.  I got the impression that the creators of the book designed it more as a marketing tool to reach young people and make the faith seem cool.  Doman conceivably could have written the same story, fleshed out with some description, and made it into a short biography.  Enough action and suspense occurs that readers will keep the pages turning.  

Despite this criticism, I do not mean to suggest that the book seems didactic.  Rather, it presents itself a a loving portrayal of a man whose dedication to God and desire to spread His message cannot fail to move readers.  The struggles he faces as he tries to accept God's will for him make him seem so delightfully human, but the fearlessness he exhibits as he searches out truth makes him seem like the obvious pick to lead the Church in the modern era.  Readers should close the book with one message: those who seek the truth will always find it.

Content Reviews: YA Contemporary [1]

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Goodreads: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Series: Companion book to Anna and the French Kiss

Publication Date: September 29, 2011

Source: Gifted

Summary:  Seventeen-year-old Lola Nola thinks herself nearly perfectly happy.  She has a great best friend, a super-cool older rock star boyfriend, and lots of talent sewing original clothing.  Her world is shattered, however, when the Bells, specifically eighteen-year-old Cricket Bell, move back next door.  Two years of hating him, and how he left her, cannot stop her from secretly wanting him back in her life.

Conclusions:  Lola and the Boy Next Door is a sweet, uplifting book that has fantastic messages about being true to oneself, learning to forgive, and living up to potential.  Although Lola faces many challenges in her life, including complicated relationships with boys and her own family, she always manages to find her way back to herself and to some type of truth about how to live a good and fulfilling life.  

On the romance front, there is some underage, premarital sex.  It is not treated casually, but neither is it condemned as immoral.  Beyond this, however, the messages Lola and the Boy Next Door sends are sound.  Friends and family caution against Lola's relationship with a much-older boy (He's 22).  Ultimately, Lola learns that good relationships are based on honesty and respect, and that they should inspire the individuals in them to be the best versions of themselves they can be.

On the familial front, Lola learns from the bad example of her mother that drinking, drugs, and teen pregnancy are all bad ideas.   She has, however, been raised by her uncle Nathan and his partner Andy in a loving household.  So although she encounters pot and alcohol within the book, she does not herself participate.

Overall, this is just as inspirational a read as it is an adorable romance.

Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Goodreads: Tempestuous

Series: Twisted Lit #1

Publication Date: December 18, 2012

Source: Borrowed

Summary: A modern day retelling of The Tempest by William Shakespeare.  

Conclusions:  The story is based on Shakespeare, so a bit of cursing and vulgarity is to be expected.  The book is appropriately YA, however, and nothing gets out of hand.

The romance is very sweet and, like Lola, Miranda discovers that being in a relationship is just about "being loved for who you are" but about aspiring to be better.  Of course a significant other should accept you and love you, and not enter a relationship with the intention of changing you, but that does not mean you never need to grow or improve yourself.  Good boyfriends and girlfriends help you in your personal journey to become a kinder or more patient or more confident.  Tempestuous is a rare YA book that points this out.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Goodreads: Lock and Key

Series: None

Publication Date: April 22, 2008

Source: Gifted  

Summary:  After Ruby's mother disappears, Ruby is sent to live with her older sister Cora, whom she has not seen in years.  Cora has a new, upscale life that Ruby never knew about, and she is certain she does not want to become a part of it now.  The cute boy next door is only making matters more complicated.

Conclusions:  Lock and Key features a clean romance.  Here, the story is mainly about Ruby finding herself and interacting/flirting with a guy, rather than about their romantic relationship.  The main character does deal with minor drinking and drug problems, but they are portrayed as problems, and not either normal or acceptable actions.  She also struggles with family problems, as her mother seems unwilling to take responsibility for her children, but Ruby does ultimately start working on building stable relationships.  The message is that you can be who you want in life, and that the mistakes of your parents do not need to define you.

Content Reviews: YA Witches

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Goodreads: Born Wicked

Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1

Publication Date: Feb. 7, 2012

Source: Library

Summary:

As witches, Cate Cahill and her two younger sisters have always been in danger.  Witchcraft is feared in New England, and the Brotherhood is always looking for an excuse to haul women away to Harwood Asylum or to some mysterious fate.  But when Cate finds their mother’s diary, which talks about a prophecy of three sisters with powers, she learns they may be in more peril than she had dreamed, not only from the Brotherhood, but from others willing to use their talents for their own ends, and even from each other.

Conclusions:

Obviously, there is witchcraft in this book.  The Brotherhood, who are the men in charge of government on every level, teach in the Sunday schools that witchcraft is bad, a gift from the devil.  The Brotherhood, however, are the obvious villains in the story, cruel men who oppress women and spy on everyone in their eagerness to condemn the sins of others.  Their opinions are generally meant to be discounted by the reader.

Witches, it seems, can be either good or bad, depending on how they use their power.  The protagonists, clearly, are good ones.  Cate does not particularly like her own magic, having inherited from her mother the thought that it is a curse that mainly puts her and her sisters in danger.  Her sisters use their magic mostly to amuse themselves or to retaliate in minor ways against the other sisters when they are angry.  No one is doing terribly wicked things here.

The theme that women are being oppressed and are expected to act like silly, frivolous dolls runs strong throughout the book.  Cate and her sisters are somewhat exceptionally educated for their society and like to flout other societal roles.  Cate often mentions, in conjunction with the Brotherhood’s hatred of witches, that they punish lesbians equally as harshly.  She is in favor of homosexual couples, and one such couple forms and kisses during the story.

The romance between Cate and her suitors is kept to kissing.

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Goodreads: Chime

Series:  none

Publication Date: March 17, 2011

Source: Library

Summary: 

Briony has always known she is wicked.  Her stepmother told her to hide her powers and to never use them or tell anyone else.  But now her stepmother is dead, and a handsome young men has come to board at her house instead.  And he seems to think that Briony is not wicked at all.

Conclusions:

Unlike in Born Wicked, the witchcraft in Chime appears to be unanimously frowned upon.  Briony despises her own witchy powers and the terrible things she believes she has done with them when she became overly jealous or angry and lost control.  She spends the majority of the book attempting to suppress her witchcraft and reminding herself what a horrible person she is, so she will not be inspired to use it again.  This self-hatred is at times excessive, although the reader can see the differences between Briony’s own thoughts and the reality of the situation.

All the other witches introduced in the book are evil.  The Old Ones, who seem to be things like river spirits that are more powerful than witches and older than them, can be either dangerous or harmless, depending on their own personalities.  They are part of the nature of the area, and their assumed extinction in the future, as technology takes over, is mourned even though the area will become much safer for travelers.  As it is, anyone who enters the swamp must carry a paper with a Scripture verse in order to defend against death or worse.

The romance in the story is clean.  Briony is the daughter of a pastor, who adheres by his rules even if she sometimes dreams of being as free as other young people, and Eldric, the love interest, likes to be chivalrous.

Awakening by Claudia Cangilla McAdam

Goodreads: Awakening

Series: None

Published: 2009

Source: Borrowed

Summary: Ronni does not understand why Jesus had to die for her.  Rather than attend Mass or even celebrate the Triduum with her mother, she would prefer to spend time with her friend Tabby.  Thus, when she awakes to find that she has travelled back in time to the last days of Jesus, she forms a plan to save her Savior.  As she watches and learns from Jesus, however, she begins to realize that the best thing she can do might be to leave history unaltered.

Review: McAdam makes history come to life as she cleverly inserts tidbits from the Bible into her story, down to an explanation of the naked young man in the Garden of Gethsemane.   Readers will feel as if they have truly travelled back in time with Ronni and they, like her, will want to take this opportunity to watch and learn from Jesus.  The book is history lesson, theology lesson, meditation, and a Bible trivia scavenger hunt all in one.

The author does not hide her intention to teach with this story and older readers especially may find that the didactic purpose has a tendency to interrupt the plot.  The action, however, never flags, even when the audience can discern the not so subtle messages behind it.  In fact, so much adventure and excitement occurs that it sometimes defies the suspension of disbelief.  The question arises: would a proper Jewish young woman and her friend really so flagrantly disobey all the laws?  Not only the religious ones that they feel Jesus has replaced with the new covenant, but also the legal ones?  Readers will understand that twenty-first century Catholic Ronni does not hold much with the laws of uncleanliness, but when she convinces a friend to attempt to jail-break Jesus, it all suddenly becomes too much.

If readers can accept that Ronni’s first-century friends all conveniently hold her twenty-first century values, the plot proves engrossing.  Ronni is a sympathetic teenage character with whom readers can relate even when they recognize that she often behaves foolishly.  She has real concerns not only about her crush who lives next door, but also about the meaning of life and the reason for suffering.  Her interactions with Jesus thus touch readers on an emotional level: He is not only answering Ronni’s concerns, but also speaking to them.  McAdam makes Jesus come alive, makes Him seem like a real person really concerned with each individual.  That is the true triumph of her storytelling.

Awakening skillfully uses an entertaining story to teach about the Crucifixion and to encourage readers to commit to a more personal relationship with Jesus.  It combines deep philosophical questions with a fun and funny plot and, if the answers are not as deep as one might have wished, it is helpful to remember that the story is geared toward younger readers, preferably those in their tweens.  One envisions this book mostly used for homeschooling or other educational purposes.

Cascade by Lisa Bergren

Goodreads: Cascade

Series: River of Time #2

Publication Date: June 1, 2011

Source: Borrowed from a friend

Summary: Gabi and her sister Lia return to the fourteenth century, this time with their mother, in order to help defend the castle and the people they have come to love.

Review: Cascade follows very much in the footsteps of Waterfall, in terms of both plot and style.  Bergren continues to have Gabi think in a hilarious form of what she clearly believes to be modern “teen-speak,” which can be annoying unless the reader decides there is nothing left to do but take it in stride and laugh.  The strange “medieval-speak” is back, as well, with an overabundance of “nays.”  This time, the major discrepancy is that Gabi claims the medieval language is natural to her, but the consistent use of modern idioms in her thoughts suggest that she must be putting a real effort into “translating” her speech.

As usual, however, the language is just one of many things readers will have to accept if they wish to enjoy the plot.  The time portal follows no more logic than it did in Waterfall, and Gabi essentially explains it away by saying that it just does not make any scientific sense and that is all there is to it.  At the end of the book, she and her family make a major alternation in time that should have drastic effects by anyone’s standards of time travel.  It never does.  Time travel operates mainly as a convenient way to get Gabi and her sister to meet some attractive medieval Italian guys in these books and is clearly not bound by any reason.

And yes, the attractive Italian guys are back, and once again are the focus of the book.  The pattern of Waterfall continues.  Gabi gets captured and then Gabi gets rescued by the handsome Marcello.  She has all obscure talents necessary to help her survive, with her knowledge of astronomy being the newest introduced.  For a change in the pattern, however, Gabi occasionally shows some good sense and does what Marcello suggests she do, instead of charging into battle and thinking she can singly wipe out the entire enemy with her sword.  Overall, the plot if rather exciting, and anyone who liked Waterfall will enjoy Cascade just as much, or perhaps even more since all the introductory bits have happened already, and readers are left with pure action and romance.

Gabi’s relationship with God does not develop as quickly as her relationship with Marcello, however, and Cascade, like Waterfall, is a Christian book mainly in that Gabi thinks about God once in awhile and the romance sticks to pretty words, kissing, and hugs.  Gabi now prays a little more often, apparently out of desperation because her life in constantly in danger, and she has moved on from thinking He has a purpose for putting her in medieval Italy to being convinced simply that He must want her alive for something since she has not died yet.  Perhaps in the third book her faith will strengthen.  She will definitely have a rough time if she chooses to remain in medieval Italy without a conviction that God plays an important role in her life.

Cascade does has its flaws, but the characters are endearing and there is always something happening to keep readers entranced or in fear for Gabi’s life.  The romance is beautiful, and occasionally Gabi throws out some philosophical thoughts that are beautiful, as well.  The series remains a good choice for those who like romance and a medieval world that is surprisingly realistic in the fiction genre, even when mixed with all of Gabi’s notions that women are equal to men.

Content Reviews: YA Dystopians

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Goodreads: Wither

Series: The Chemical Garden #1

Published: March 22, 2011

Source: Purchased

Summary:

Due to some failures of genetic engineering, all females now die at the age of twenty, and all males at twenty-five.  Rhine is planning on making the most of the four years she has left.  But then she is kidnapped, forced to become one of the polygamous brides to one of the wealthy men seeking to keep the populating rising.  Life with her new husband has its perks—a constant supply of food, no more worries about being murdered, more luxury than she could have imagined.  Yet nothing can compare to the love she has for her twin brother, and she will do anything to make her way back to him.

Conclusions:

Wither is a very “content-heavy” book, particularly for a young adult novel.  The readers know right away that there is polygamy.  There is next implied sex, and then implied sex between a thirteen-year-old girl and a twenty-one-year-old man (who are married).  There are mentions of prostitution, which seems to be a fairly common occupation for young ladies in this society.

DeStefano clearly attempts to lessen the impact of some of this by having the main character refuse to have sex with her husband.  Only the other girls, with whom the readers are supposed to sympathize slightly less, do.  She and the other girls interact mostly as friends and act as “sister wives” primarily when they want to overwhelm their husband with attention so he will grant them favors.

There is little violence and no cursing.

Religion appears to have been eradicated.  Characters talk about “fate” instead of “God.”

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Goodreads: Delirium

Series: Delirium #1

Published: Feb. 1, 2011

Source: Purchased

Summary:

All citizens must undergo an operation in their teenage years to make them forever immune to the disease of love.  Lena is counting down the days until she becomes a grown-up—and free from all the worries and dangers that emotions bring.  Then she meets Alex, who would like to convince her that love is actually something beautiful.

Conclusions:

The premise of this dystopian is that love is a disease.  Therefore, touching or even much interaction between people of different genders is not allowed.  Clearly, the protagonist of a book in such a society needs to rebel against these rules.  Mostly there is kissing.  She mentions once that Alex thinks she is beautiful without her shirt on, but there is nothing graphic described and there is no sex.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads: Insurgent

Series: Divergent #2

Published: May, 1 2012

Source: Purchased

SPOILERS FOR DIVERGENT

Summary:

Now that Erudite has revealed their intention to take over society with their mind-controlling serums, Tris and Four are ready to fight.  Yet it will take some convincing for Amity to join a war and for Candor to care for more than the safety of their own faction.

Conclusions:

Beyond the plot (which is awesome!), Insurgent is interesting mainly for its discussion of morality.  Although Tris, and the book in general, like to talk about shades of gray, it seems obvious that there is some sense of the existence of absolute morality at work.  One character, one of the traitors and therefore a “bad guy,” argues that he made his decisions because “Evil depends on where you stand.”  Tris immediately retorts that certain things will always be evil to her, no matter where she stands.

Roth also writes a little more about religion in her society, and all the factions seem to relate to it differently.  Dauntless does not appear to have much religious belief.  Amity is very spiritual, gathering in groups to pray together and talk in a community.  Abnegation’s beliefs seems closest to traditional Christianity.  All religions are respected by other factions.

The romance continues to be as it was in Divergent.  Tris and Four kiss (strangely, usually in the midst of highly dangerous situations).  They occasionally sleep in the same bed at night.

Obviously there is violence, as there is a war on.

Waterfall by Lisa Bergren

Goodreads: Waterfall

Series: River of Time #1

Publication Date:

Source: Borrowed from a friend

Goodreads Summary: Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds...until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.

Review: Waterfall is a fun read focused on the adventures of a modern girl who inexplicably finds herself in medieval Italy—scandalously clad in skinny jeans and a cardigan.  Most of the amusement of the book comes from watching Gabi attempt to navigate the two very different worlds.  On one hand, she knows she needs to conform and behave like a believable and proper young noblewoman, particularly if she wants to catch the eye of a certain young nobleman.  On the other, she is fiercely free-spirited and wants to distinguish herself as a confident woman with more skills than these men could have imagined.

The idea of the modern woman travelling back in time and griping about the lack of feminism is becoming a little cliché, a little tiresome.  Bergren mostly manages to make it work, however.  The medieval characters are not instantly won over by Gabi’s behavior.  In fact, they are suspicious and accuse her of being either a witch or a prostitute.  The process by which they slowly begin to accept Gabi has something to offer the medieval world is actually fairly believable.

Interestingly, most of the modern parts of the book are not.  Bergren’s idea of how the average teenager talks is interesting, to say the least.  Gabi employs a number of rather embarrassing phrases such as “the whole enchilada” and terms that Bergen clearly believes qualify as teen “lingo.”  It all comes across as stilted and uninformed, and the merits of her story are often lost behind the awkwardness.

Bergren’s explanation of the medieval/modern Italian relationship is equally questionable.  First, Gabi decides she is magically able to speak this old version of Italian because she has just read so much Dante it has become ingrained in her mind.  This is highly unrealistic.  I read a lot of Middle English, but I have yet to start speaking it.  Worse, however, are the “corrections” characters make to Gabi’s speech.  She uses terms like “tomorrow” which evidently confuse others, and then they explain that they say “on the morrow” instead.  These explanations would make far more sense if Gabi were actually speaking medieval English, not medieval Italian.  This is a minor part of the book, but like Gabi’s strange teen dialect, it proves immensely distracting.

Once the reader gets past these flaws, the plotline is rather interesting.  There are battles, intrigue, sicknesses, and more—everything one would expect to make a book in medieval times exciting.  Gabi does give a fair amount of her attention to these occurrences, but she is also very much focused on developing a potential romance.  In fact, she has rather an obsession with medieval men because they are just so much more “manly” than modern guys.  Her swooning over their masculine smell and physiques and how primal they are is rather intense.

It also overshadows whatever Christian message this book is supposed to have.  Occasionally Gabi stops to wonder why she was sent back in time and what God wants her to do there.  No answer is forthcoming.  She does help her new friends out in a fairly large way, but her ultimate goal always appears to win over her guy.  Here, “Christian fiction” translates fairly well as “clean romance.”

Waterfall is an entertaining read with a lot of promise.  It has its flaws, but is ultimately captivating enough to leave readers wanting the sequel.  There are also a number of unanswered questions that one can only hope will be explored in the following books.

The Shadow of the Bear by Regina Doman

Goodreads: The Shadow of the Bear

Series: Fairy Tale Novels #1

Published: 1997

Source: Borrowed

Summary: Years ago a priest was murdered and the Church vessels he collected were stolen.  The story passed into rumor and few remembered what had really happened that night.  When eighteen-year-old Blanche and her younger sister Rose welcome a stranger into their home, however, they unwittingly allow the past to enter, as well.  Known only as Bear, the young man has a dark history and a secret he refuses to share.  The girls learn to trust him, but his friendship may cost them their lives.  A retelling of “Snow White and Rose Red”.

Review: The Shadow of the Bear speaks to a type of reader often ignored in contemporary young adult literature—one who does not relate to the students at preppy boarding schools, does not condone a fast and loose lifestyle, does not feel represented by all the protagonists who treat chastity like a disease.  It offers heroes and heroines actively concerned with leading good and holy lives even though they remain flawed and presents a picture of teenage life that some might find unbelievable, but that reflects the realities of many young Catholics.  Lovers of books and beauty will relate to the protagonists who discuss literature, faith, and philosophy all while trying to figure out how these topics fit into their day-to-day experiences. 

Doman seamlessly incorporates the themes discussed by the characters into her plot, thus revealing how the extraordinary and the ordinary often intertwine.  She clearly agrees with the philosophy of G. K. Chesterton who argued that fairy tales reflect the true reality beyond what we can see.  The dragons her characters face, however, are not mythological, but ones many readers struggle with themselves: drugs, death, date rape, and temptation.  The recognition of the characters that they are engaged in a battle that is more than physical imparts to the story its power.

The Shadow of the Bear combines the magic of a fairy tale with real life and, in the process, reminds readers that every day is full of wonder.  It provides a refreshing alternative to the “edgy” contemporary young adult books currently on the market and reminds readers that they are not alone in valuing purity or in seeking beauty.  The sympathetic characters combined with the hint of mystery make this a worthy addition to the bookshelf of any lover of retold fairy tales.