Mia's Favorite Book of 2008

I am sitting down to write this recommendation, still a little speechless after finishing Tender Morsels. I know for sure that it was my favorite thing I read in 2008, and that it is a book that will stick with me for years to come...but it isn't an easy thing to read. Liga survives the first fifty pages of the book so I had to, as well, but her story was heartbreaking and filled with abuse and sorrow. Because of this survival and heartbreak, she is granted a magical intervention and finds herself living in a paralell world where everything is gentle, good, and pure. In this environment she raises her two daughters, an interesting twist on the Snow White and Rose Red fairytale. But the three women's world begins to unravel as the barriers between their home and reality start to break down. Bear-men begin to appear, some to befriend the women, and others to lure them away. This is a story that will leave you shocked but hopeful. I found myself as absorbed in Liga's world as if I, too, lived there. In Australia, where author Margo Lannagan lives, it was marketed as an adult book. But its question about good, truth, and finding your place in the world are relevant for insightful and mature teens as well as adults. I think everyone should read this book. I think it should win heaps of prizes for its language as well as its characters and themes. I think if you are looking to escape from a dreary winter day into a gripping (if disturbing at times) book, this is the one.