An Excellent and Fast Read

A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz

(a 2008 Newberry Medal winner)

Amazon: When the Hawthorne sisters appear out of nowhere and adopt the 11-year-old troublemaker, she vows to be obedient. Distracted by unfamiliar pleasures such as new clothes, ice cream, and indoor plumbing, she doesn't worry too much about the sisters' insistence that her presence in their home be kept hidden. Well cared for but bored, she finds a way to communicate with Muffet, a deaf serving woman, and the two develop a close relationship. Mysteries abound, and Maud soon discovers the family secret–the Hawthorne sisters make their living by conducting fraudulent séances and they need Maud to play the part of a girl's ghost to deceive a grieving mother. Wanting to earn her guardians' affections, Maud is drawn further and further into the scheme despite her growing qualms of conscience. Only after a betrayal and a tragedy does she finally find the loving home for which she longs. Filled with heavy atmosphere and suspense, this story re-creates life in early-20th-century New England and showcases the plight of orphans. Maud is a charismatic, three-dimensional character who is torn between doing the right thing and putting her own needs first. While much of the plot is predictable, particularly the ending, the book will find an audience with fans of gothic tales.

Well... I have to say.. this is one of those surprise reads. One wonders how it can be a surprise when I read reviews and such and sent for the book, totally expecting to enjoy it.

The truth is, no matter how many reviews one reads for a book before purchasing it, there's always that small percent of your brain that says there's a chance you WON'T like it as much as someone else did.

Happily this is not the case.

At the end of the title on the book cover there are two little words that are basically ignored. The words are: A Melodrama. "Melodrama" means: a work (as a movie or play) characterized by extravagant theatricality and by the predominance of plot and physical action over characterization. It was all of that!

The characters, of course, make this book. The story, quite different. It kept me reading and I didn't put the book down for long.

Also, I loved that the dimensions of the book are not large, the type is a good size and it's double spaced. (All this means "fast reading") And it also sports one thing that always makes me read faster than normal.. short chapters! Praise be short chapters! For whatever reason I read way more at each sitting when there are short chapters than when the chapters are long. I find myself always saying, "oh.. only 4-5 pages... ok, one more chapter" But that happens 3 or 4 times in a row AFTER I think I'm done reading .

Ok so .. Amazon gave a really good description of this book. For whatever reasons it hooked me, and kept me. And I totally enjoyed the whole read. Loved the characters and I thought the story line was told excellently. I will be checking to see what else (if anything) Laura Amy Schlitz has written.

I don't want to leave without mentioning the book cover which was made by Tim O'Brien... and an excellent cover it is!