Local Interest

Many authors set out to write ‘important’ novels about ‘big issues’ that are meant to be buoyed by the stories that are pervasive throughout the culture at the moment. These are sometimes met with success, but Julie Cantrell’s The Feathered Bone is a different breed. This is absolutely an important novel with a big issue at its core (especially for those of us along the I-12 Corridor), but it is not meant to be buoyed by stories of missing girls – this is not a novel that feeds on the news. This is a novel that serves its subjects.

Delia Sherman’s The Freedom Maze is a high middle grade speculative fiction novel that is simply fantastic. Basically, this novel tells the story of a privileged young white girl in 1960 Louisiana who is transported to 1860 where her ancestors mistake her for a slave. I sometimes make blanket statements about my reading habits, such as “I don’t really like sci-fi.” And then a totally awesome book comes along and welcomes me into the genre.