Cecile: Gates of Gold, by Mary Casanova

12 year old Cecile Revel is a peasant in 18th century France.
She works hard to keep from starving and dreams of one day
going to court, where she could wear fine gowns and end her
nearly constant hunger.
When a noblewoman is riding in the woods near her home, she
takes a bad fall. After Cecile and her father help her, the
noblewoman offers Cecile a job looking after her dogs at court.
At first glance the new life Cecile has at court seems like
heaven. But after a bit the strict rules and constant suspicion
makes Cecile isn't all balls and fancy dresses!
The writing in this story is pretty good, but not exceptional.
The characters, on the other hand, are really well done and
believable. If you enjoy historical fiction, then this book is for
you.
4 stars,
Emme

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Slayer, Interrupted, by Scott Lobdell

Well, I really didn't love this graphic novel.

It has two story lines in it, one follows Buffy Summers just after
she discovers that she is the Chosen One. This story line is
predictable and rather dull. I had hoped to learn more about
Buffy's early days as a slayer and find out some about her first
watcher. This book contains little on her early slaying and none
on her old watcher.

The other story line is a bit more interesting. It is about Giles
taking a test to prove that he is a worthy watcher and doesn't
need to resort to magic .

I wasn't fond of the writing. It lacked wit and was uninteresting. I
didn't care for the artwork either. The drawings of Buffy looked
very little like Sarah Michelle Gellar and the coloring didn't seem
interesting. For the battle scenes everything was extremely
overly bright and neon-y, but for the rest of the book it was
dark and dull.
2 stars,
Emme

A Horse like Barney, Jessie Haas

Sarah has wanted a horse of her own for a long time. Now that
her parents have decided to let her have one she is eager to
begin searching for the perfect horse. However both of her
parents are far to busy to help her star looking right now.
Frustrated and tired of waiting, Sarah enlisted one of her
friends who is old enough to drive in helping her begin a secret
search for her dream horse.
This book is quite well written and accurately describes the
interesting, but often confusing, task of horse hunting.
If you want an unusual horse story that is quite realistic this is
the book for you.
4 stars Emme