ENCHANTER'S GLASS

In her first novel, Whitcher (Something For Everyone, 1995, etc.) pens a gripping and unusual story about the intersection of fantasy and reality. While skipping school because the pressures of ordinary life have become too onerous, middle-schooler Phoebe falls off a bridge. She doesn't drown, but washes up in the shallows clutching a mysterious piece of glass, part of a perfect orb. The world looks different through the glass; Phoebe's fussy neighbor, Mr. Barnes, looks like a wizard. Strange things start happening, too. The class outcast, Tam†s, turns up in Phoebe's yard in a vastly transformed state. Phoebe and Tam†s enter a magical world from their own imaginings, a world that reflects their dreams, assumptions, and misconceptions back to them. As they learn to look beyond appearances and appreciate each other's real selves, they free themselves from the terrifying spell of their imaginary world. Although some of the transitions between the fantasy and reality are a little confusing, most are handled well. Readers who have longed for a little sorcery in their lives will want to think again after finishing this provocative book. (Fiction. 10+)