Hot stuff
Robin McKinley’s Dragonhaven is set in Smokehill National Park somewhere out west, where the major draw is a population of Draco australiensis — Let’s stop there. I love this novel about a national park with dragons, which is also a meditation on parenting, communication, and memory. The premise alone was enough to sell me on … Continue reading
The exiles return
Melina Marchetta is an Australian writer well known for her YA novels set in Catholic high schools (the wonderful Saving Francesca is a frequent reread.) She also won the Printz, a high honor for YA books, for Jellicoe Road, a book I found so sad that I haven’t ever picked it up for a second … Continue reading
Return to Edgewood
When I was growing up, my dad spoke fondly about the time in his life when he reread his favorite book, Crime and Punishment, once a year. “On an exceptionally hot evening in July,” he would quote in a funny voice, imitating a friend who didn’t get his love for the book, “a young man … Continue reading
