Book picks similar to
An Old Magic by Ruth M. Arthur
young-adult
19th-century
romany
ruth-m-arthur
Child of Faerie, Child of Earth
Josepha Sherman - 1992
Percinet, half-human son of a queen of Faerie, falls in love with a mortal, the daughter of a medieval count, and leaves his realm of magic to defend her against her cruel stepmother, a secret sorceress.
Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement
L.M. Montgomery - 1993
The "odds" are varied in these skillfully written tales. An obstacle to one's success or happiness may lie in one's own character or the prejudice of someone else. A potential employer may cast a suspicious eye on an individual's background. A guardian seems reluctant to sponsor any further education for his charge. Other characters here are looking as much for increased self-respect as financial reward or better training.Set in locales as varied as Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island, the stories of Against the Odds are peopled with orphans, teachers, actors, struggling single-parent families, intransigent relatives. It's a world, though distant from our own, where Montgomery's characters have problems similar to ours, and their methods of solving them are not very different from what we would try.
Why Me?
Deborah Kent - 1992
In this timely, sensitive novel, thirteen-year-old Rachel discovers she has kidney disease and is forced to find her biological mother for a kidney transplant.
Shadow Castle
Marian Cockrell - 1945
One day, a girl named Lucy follows a little dog through a tunnel into the valley and meets the mysterious red-haired Michael, who takes her into the shadow world to meet Prince Mika and his mortal wife Gloria, their children and their children's children, and learn the magic that will lift the spell. This new expanded Author's Edition contains additional chapters never published before!
The Exiles
Hilary McKay - 1992
The four Conroy sisters spend a wild summer at the seaside with Big Grandma, who tries to break them of their reading habit by substituting fresh air and hard work for books and gets unexpected results.
West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi
Jim Murphy - 1998
The first humorous book in the Dear America series follows an Italian girl's immigrant family as they move from New York City to a utopian community in the frontier West.While traveling in 1883 with her Italian American family (including a meddlesome little sister) and other immigrant pioneers to a utopian community in Idaho, fourteen-year-old Teresa keeps a diary of her experiences along the way.
Stealing the Show
Christina Jones - 1998
She and her brothers, Danny and Sam, run a traditional fair which, so far, has afforded them a good living. But times are changing, and Danny and Sam are keen to expand by investing in more ambitious rides. Nell, more of a traditionalist, loathes the new technology. And she's also having second thoughts about the man to whom she is unofficially engaged. So Nell buys the gallopers secretly and arranges to have them renovated. But what she hadn't realised is that the horses come with their own very sexy restorer ...
Out of Breath
Julie Myerson - 2008
And suddenly there's a strange boy at the bottom of Flynn's garden. Soon, she and her wayward brother Sam are walking out of the house in the middle of a hot summer's night and crossing four fields to find him again. But as well as the boy, Flynn and Sam find a whole gang of runaway kids. There's Diana, who's just had a baby. There's Mouse, who's only five and likes to set fire to things. And there is the boy himself, who stirs up feelings in Flynn that she's never felt before.But there's also someone else - the unspeakably malign and terrifying presence they're all running from. Escaping him, they stumble on an amazing and extraordinary house by a waterfall, a house which seems to offer safety and meets their every desire and need - or does it? The youngest character in the novel is one day old, and the oldest only seventeen. But the themes that lie at the heart of this ferociously original story are as adult, unsettling and universal as those of Julie Myerson's other novels.
The School at the Chalet
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer - 1925
From small beginnings, it grows rapidly, enjoying all sorts of exciting adventures and mishaps.
Carney's House Party
Maud Hart Lovelace - 1949
She's looking forward to hosting a month-long house party, with guests including her Vassar college roommate Isobel Porteous and old chum Betsy Ray. With lots of the old Crowd and a new friend--wealthy, unkempt, but lovable Sam Hutchinson--around, the days are filled with fun. And romance seems to be in the air. But Carney can never be romantic about anyone but Larry Humphreys, her high school sweetheart, who moved to California four years ago. Then Larry returns to Deep Valley and sets the town abuzz. Will Larry propose? And will Carney say yes? In addition to her beloved Betsy-Tacy books, Maud Hart Lovelace wrote three more stories set in the fictional town of Deep Valley: Winona's Pony Cart, Carney's House Party, and Emily of Deep Valley. Longtime fans and new readers alike will be delighted to find the Deep Valley books available again for the first time in many years.
Remembrance
Theresa Breslin - 2002
A group of teenagers from two families meet for a picnic, but the war across the Channel is soon to tear them away from such youthful pleasures. All too soon, the horror of what is to become known as The Great War engulfs them, their friends and the whole village. From the horror of the trenches, to the devastating reality seen daily by those nursing the wounded, they struggle to survive - and nothing will ever be the same again.A powerful and engrossing novel about love and war, from Carnegie Medal-winning author Theresa Breslin.
Carbonel: The King of the Cats
Barbara Sleigh - 1955
for the first time in over 30 years.Rosemary's plan to clean houses during her summer break and surprise her mother with the money hits a snag when an old lady at the market talks her into buying a second-rate broom and a cat she can't even afford to keep. But appearances can be deceiving. Some old ladies are witches, some brooms can fly, and some ordinary-looking cats are Princes of the Royal Blood. Rosemary's cat ("You may call me Carbonel. That is my name.") soon enlists her help in an adventure to free him from a hideous spell and return him to his rightful throne. But along the way Rosemary and her friend John must do some clever sleuthing, work a little magic of their own, and—not least— put up with the demands of a very haughty cat.
Remains to Be Seen
Elizabeth Cadell - 1983
The plot is complicated by her falling in love with her old playmate, who owns the estate where the ruins were discovered, before her fiance joins her in England to find out exactly where HE stands. The characters are well-defined and interesting, and the story wraps up well and very satisfactorily.
The Green Wind
Thurley Fowler - 1988
The Robinsons have more problems than most of the families in the fruit growing community where they live. But this year is a year of promise. They are assured of a bumper crop, and they can finally afford to have electricity laid on - until unexpected misfortune finds them yet again ...