Perhaps because I just returned from a trip to Scotland (my adopted homeland) I have been reading a lot of books by British authors lately. But this might not be a coincidence so much as a testimony to the greatness of the writers in question. First up, our Newbery Winner: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Like Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, The Graveyard Book follows the story of a boy raised under unusual circumstances by a curious cast of characters. Nobody "Bod" Owens escapes the murderer that kills his whole family and seeks refuge in a nearby graveyard. He is adopted by the local ghosts and a mysterious gaurdian named Silas. The story of Bod's childhood is filled with adventure and is also a poignat meditation on what it means to be alive. I would recommend for any reading level.
Next up, Bog Child by Sioban Dowd. Bog Child is Dowd's third book. Saddly, it and a remaining novel are being published posthumously after Dowd died of cancer in 2007. Her legacy will no doubt live for generations through fine books like Bog Child and The London Eye Mystery. Unlike The London Eye Mystery, Bog Child is definitely geared at a teen audience. It is a revealing look at recent Irish history, seen through the eyes of 18-year-old Fergus McCann. It is the 1980s and "The Troubles", a time of political turmoil, have come to Ireland. Fergus is trying to concentrate on studying for his A-Level exams, but is distracted by the fate of his older brother, a member of Sinn Fein, participating in a prison hunger strike. When Fergus one day discovers the body of a girl nearly 2,000 years old preserved in the peat bog near his home, his summer begins to connect as the many threads of his life weave together. Will the mystery of the Iron Age body be revealed? Was it murder? Sacrifice? As Fergus attempts to unravel the answers to these ancient questions, he finds no easy ones for the questions closer to home.
Finally, a strange and wonderful book by David and Ruth Ellwand. The mystery of the fool & the vanisher : being an investigation into the life and disappearance of Isaac Wilde, artist and fairy seeker. This story-within-a-story tells of David Ellwand's discovery of an old trunk in an abandoned house near his home. In the trunk is the fantastic story, with possibly photographic proof, of haunting fairy creatures that can only by seen with the right tools. Do you believe in fairies? After reading this book you might think twice.
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