The Secret Garden was one of those books I entered into again and again.  Now Ellen Potter takes me back to this story again with a novel inspired by the classic.  The Humming Room introduces unforgettable characters and its own magical garden.

Roo Fenshaw is feisty and a survivor.  She can squirm into the smallest of spaces to hide.  She is hiding under her family’s ramshackle trailer when her parents are murdered.  When she is shipped off to her wealthy and eccentric uncle’s home on Cough Rock Island, she is still looking for a place to hide.  There are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore in the strange house that used to be a tuberculosis sanatorium for children.  The island is filled with secrets and lies and mysteries that Roo is determined to figure out.

I loved the garden that Roo discovers and brings back to life.  It is desolate and eerie and haunted and exotic. I loved Jack, the mysterious boy from the river who entices Roo out of her shell.  He is part river rat, part Faigne.  I liked Phillip, but I wanted to see more of his part of the story, to give him more time to grow and change.

The Humming Room is full of heart and growth. Its quirky characters and haunting places  will stay with you.

Did you know that the Man of Steel took on the men of hate?  I didn’t until I read all about it in Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan by Rick Bowers.  In fact I learned a lot I didn’t know about Superman and the history of the Klan, such as

• Superman began with two Jewish teens drawing a new superhero in their attic.  Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sold the rights to DC Comics to earn a steady income, but they lost out on the millions in merchandising that Superman brought through the years.
• Superman received many rejection letters before a fledgling comics company took a chance and sent Superman out in the first issue of Action Comics.  In addition to appearing in comics, Superman has shown up in radio shows, movies, and television.  It was in the radio show that Superman took on the enemies of intolerance and hatred.
• Bob Maxwell turned Superman into more than a comic strip and put the face of Superman onto everything from cereal boxes to lunch boxes to pajamas.
• The popularity of Superman led to an outcry against the evils of comic books and children’s shows with too much violence. (Doesn’t this sound familiar?)
• The Ku Klux Klan may have started as a joke to ease small town boredom, but it was soon taken over by hatred and violence, which did it in.  Later rebirths of the Klan used hate red to fuel being profits for its leaders through membership drives and merchandizing.
• One more person played a role in the coming showdown.  Stetson Kennedy was born and bred in the South, but he never understood the racism.  He worked to infiltrate and expose hate groups, especially the Klan.

I loved reading how these different strands of history came together in a dramatic showdown where a kid’s radio show played a part in stopping yet another resurgence of hate.  I appreciate that Bowers does not take the easy way out of giving Superman the entire credit, but explores the more complicated history–and the myths that grew out of it. The sixteen part radio series “Clan of the Fiery Cross” can be heard online today if you want to hear it for yourself.

Oh my.  I have been hearing such good things about Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu for over a year, but I just had a chance to read it for myself.  I get it.  This book is the most beautiful tribute to the power of stories.  I loved every allusion to my favorite stories–Narnia, Hogwarts, and enchanted forests.

Hazel struggles to fit in to her new school and life After her father left.  Her old school praised her creativity, but her new teacher complains that she doesn’t pay attention or follow the rules.  The only thing that keeps her going is her longtime friendship with her neighbor Jack.  Now that they are twelve, though, no one expects their friendship to remain the same.

Then a shard from a magic mirror falls into Jack’s eye and changes him.  Hazel is the only one who sees that Jack is no longer himself, but she can’t reach him.  When Jack disappears into the woods with a woman in a sleigh, Hazel follows after to rescue the prince.  These enchanted woods do strange things to people.  Hazel learns she can’t trust anyone–not the wood cutter, not the friendly couple, and not the wizards in the marketplace. She’s not even sure she can trust herself anymore.  Even if she finds Jack, will he even want to be rescued?

Breadcrumbs is a delightful blend of fairy tale, magic, and friendship.  Follow Hazel into the enchanted forest and discover the power of stories to reveal the truth.