The Dragon in the Cliff: A novel based on the life of Mary Anning

By Sheila Cole

Mary Anning contributed much to the world of paleontology with her discovery of the ichthyosaur skeleton in 1811, when she was thirteen years old. Unfortunately, someone else got the credit for her discovery, and so little is known about her.

Sheila Cole has skillfully mixed fact with fiction in this novel. Mary Anning was born in England, the daughter of a poor cabinetmaker, who, aside from making cabinets, had to collect fossils to sell to the upper class in order to make ends meet. When she was fifteen months old, she was struck by a bolt of lightning, and lived. Ever since then, people in her home town of Lyme said that she was brighter and livelier than the rest.

Mary was seven when she started going down to the beach to collect fossils, or curiosities as they were called then, with her father and brother, despite the disapproval of her mother and the neighbors (fossil-hunting wasn't considered appropriate for females back then).

When Mary was eleven, her father died and her brother had to work as an apprentice to an upholsterer. So it was up to Mary to go down to the beach alone and collect fossils to sell fossils to keep the family from starvation.

Then she found the ichyosaur head, and soon the rest of the body. She became acquainted with Miss Elizabeth Philpot, a woman who shared Mary's interest in fossils.

Mary then meets a boy named Henry de la Beche, who is also interested in geology and fossils. He asks Mary to take him collecting with her, and offers to pay her for every fossil they find together. They spend a lot of time together, and Mary becomes very fond of him. However, the others in Lyme do not approve, and Mary must struggle with her differences to find out where she fits in in society.

Overall, this was a good book. I liked how it was well-researched and very realistic. The author did a good job of bringing Mary to life, despite the few facts that are known about her. However, there were places in the novel where I thought the author could show rather than tell.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Looking for Jamie Bridger

By Nancy Springer

Jamie Bridger is fourteen and she doesn't know who her parents are. She lives with her strict, grouchy grandfather and her weak, submissive grandmother, and neither will tell her anything about her birth.

When her grandfather dies suddenly and her grandmother becomes dependent on her for everything, Jamie decides its time to find out about her parents. She sets out for the neighborhood where she used to live, to see what she can find there. She doesn't find her parents there, but she does meet a slightly crazy, turtle-loving woman named Shirley and a female lawyer who used to know a man who may be Jamie's father. With the help of these two women and her best friend Kate, Jamie continues her investigations, which culminate in a dangerous trip to New York and a most shocking discovery.

I know it's a cliche to say that this book will hook you on the first page and hold you there to the last. The plot is suspenseful and moves quickly, with many unexpected twists and turns on the road to conclusion. I thought it was interesting and helpful how the the author switches back and forth between view points throughout the story.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

A Wrinkle In Time

By Madeleine L'Engle

If this isn't the best sci-fi book in the world, I don't know what is. It's engaging, exciting and suspenseful all at the same time. Unlike some science fiction books, it's love that saves the day here, accomplishing something that couldn't be done by bravery, cleverness, or physical strenghth alone. Even though the ending is abrupt, it ties up all loose ends.

The main character, Margaret Murry, a.k.a Meg, has low self-esteem and seems to always be the odd-ball. She doesn't get along with anyone at school, including the teachers and the principal, Mr. Jenkins. Not only that, but everyone likes to gossip about how it's such a shame that bright parents like hers produced not-so-bright children like Meg and her brother Charles Wallace. Charles Wallace is another misfit. He doesn't speak outside his home, and people wonder if he's "dumb". To top it all off, Mr. Murry, Meg's father, who was working for the government, hasn't been seen or heard from for over a year.

One stormy night, a stranger shows up at the Murry house and introduces herself as Mrs. Whatsit, whom Charles Wallace claims to have met before.

The next day, Charles Wallace and Meg meet Calvin, a friendly boy who is fed up with his large family. He, Meg and Charles Wallace become friends quickly, forming a team for the adventure to come.

That night, Mrs. Whatsit and her friends Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which show up. They "tesser" themselves, Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin away to "Uriel, the third planet of the star Malak in the spiral nebula Messier 101", where they see a big black shadow, called The Black Thing, which blots out the stars and gives off a feeling of great evil.

From there, Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin tesser to Camazotz, a planet covered by The Black Thing, on which Mr. Murry is being held. Camazotz is controlled by IT, a brain-like thing that forces everyone to be exactly alike, and torturing those who don't conform.

A man with red eyes, a main helper of IT, seduces Charles Wallace's mind, turning him into a zombie possessed by IT. On command, Charles leads Meg and Calvin to the cell where Mr. Murry is being held. Using the glasses that Mrs. Who gave her before she left for Camazotz, Meg frees her father, only to have Charles Wallace lead all of them to IT.

Meg, Mr. Murry, and Calvin narrowly escape from the crushing power of IT, tessering through The Black Thing to the planet Ixchel. Meg, badly affected by the journey through The Black Thing, is cared for by Aunt Beast, a big, hairy native of the planet, four arms and long tentacles for fingers.

After a discussion with Aunt Beast, Mr. Murry, Calvin, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who, Meg realizes that it is she alone who must make the dangerous journey back to Camazotz to rescue Charles Wallace from IT's clutches. Can Meg succeed where nobody else has, using love to challenge the power of IT?

Even if you generally don't like science fiction, or don't read it very often, you shouldn't miss A Wrinkle In Time. It's a quick read, 190 pages, but it will catch your interest immediately, and you won't want to put it down. The characters are realistic, 3-D, the unusual scenery is vividly described, and the plot is fast-paced. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.