Mary Losure

As I was reading this book, I couldn't stop telling people about it. A casual, "How's it going?" would lead to, "Oh my gosh, I'm reading this book about a wild boy, like Mowgli or Tarzan, but REAL." So, yeah, I was completely drawn into the story and I found the subject matter fascinating.

I did some really quick research on feral children and found out about a French book published in 2007 called "The Enigma of Wolf-Children" that claims nearly all supposedly true cases of feral children were actually hoaxes or misunderstandings. It made me wonder about the amount of speculation in this real-life story, but the author clearly did her research. I'm willing to put aside harsh skepticism and believe that the boy probably did survive alone in the woods for at least some of his young life.

This is a quick read with a compelling plot, interesting characters, solid writing, and an exciting premise. Highly recommended. I will probably re-read it later in the year to consider for our mock Newbery. And I can't wait to see the art, which was missing from my ARC.… (meer)

It all began with Frances, a young girl who, being new to England, one day discovered fairies at the bottom of the garden. Unfortunately it seemed Frances was the only one to see these fairies and so without proof no one believed her, that is apart from her cousin Elsie of course. But that didn't stop the teasing that followed.

Elsie, being of kind heart and somewhat mischief nature, decided to put a stop to the teasing of her cousin Frances by providing proof of the existence of fairies. Something that was easier said then done, however with a strong will, an artistic flair and a borrowed camera she had managed to do just that.

The Fairy Ring is a true story told of how two girls, innocently enough, fooled the world and those with the passion enough to believe. As spiritualism was becoming increasingly popular at the time, fairies and nature spirits were a popular talking point, and with so little known about the subject proof of the existence of such beings were highly sought after. But little did Frances or Elsie realise just how seriously their proof would be taken.… (meer)