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NOVELS BY JACKIE FRENCH KOLLER |
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(Click on book jackets to read an excerpt) |
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THE KEEPERS SERIES! from Simon & Schuster!
Eldearth is a land in need of a new Imperial Wizard. The forces of evil are rapidly encroaching, and the Keeper of the Light is growing too old and weak to hold them off. Princess Arenelle has shown unusual gifts in the magical arts and would dearly love to embark on the quest to identify a new apprentice wizard, but, because she is a girl, the best she can hope for is to study at the Academy of Witchcraft. But Nell is clever as well as talented, and finds an unsuspecting substitute-a poor boy named Owen-to masquerade in her place at the Academy, while she secretly undertakes the journey. Along the way, she learns more than she expects about the trials of the common folk of Eldearth, proving her courage and kind heart several times over. This is a fast-moving and easy-to-read choice for fantasy fans. Witches, wizards, and humans coexist in Eldearth, although the magical folk have a higher status and better standard of living. There are vanishrouds and speaking stars reminiscent of Harry Potter's magical devices, but the general populace lives in a preindustrial culture. Nell is a steadfast and admirable heroine while Owen has depth and interest and becomes more than just a stand-in. Both girls and boys will identify with the engaging protagonists. This is the first book in a forthcoming trilogy, so it isn't too surprising when it ends with Nell only just about to gain permission to become apprentice Wizard. Readers will eagerly await the sequels.(Grades 4 - 6) Susan L. Rogers, School Library Journal |
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AVERAGE BARNES & NOBLE CUSTOMER REVIEW: 5 STARS! Click here to read. |
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Someday, Orchard Books
Celie had always known that someday her hometown would be gone, flooded to make way for a massive reservior to quench the thirst of the sprawling city of Boston. She just never believed that someday would actually come. Now it has.
"Koller excels in making Celie fully human and three-dimensional. The town of Enfield becomes a character like any other in the story, triggering emotion and tears.." ---VOYA
"With complex, finely drawn characters and fluid language that rings true for the period and place, the story is satisfying emotionally as well as intellectually.." ---Kirkus
"The language is often exceptionallyy descriptive---"the tension between the two was like a twisted wire, ready to snap." The story is moving, the characters provide insight and care for their town, and the plot is carried along by an element of suspense about the future of the town and especially its inhabitants. ---Children's Literature
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THE FALCON |
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Seventeen-year-old Luke has been having more and more accidents lately, and getting into more and more trouble. Luke can't understand why all this is happening. Is the answer to be found in the here and now, or deep in the buried thoughts of another accident long ago? Atheneum Books - Ages 12 up |
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* 1999 American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults |
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"Koller creates another stellar profile of a conflicted teen in the authentically drawn character of seventeen-year-old Luke Carver. Feeling like ?the falcon? in his own published poem, Luke finds his senior English writing assignment a daunting task. The reader is quickly drawn into Luke's social life, appreciating his complex relationship with Megan and identifying with the politics of the wrestling team. It is the references to Luke's risky adventures and the crossed-out lines in his personal diary that begin to reveal the mystery surrounding his disability. Visual imagery triggers a mood of sadness in this brooding character, and flashbacks of Luke's hospital experiences provide more clues to link his past with the secrecy of his behavior. Strong themes of responsibility, privacy and invincibility are vividly presented through a teen perspective as are the bonds of friendship and prejudicial ideas about psychology and homosexuality. This engrossing narrative will touch all of its readers; my favorite exchanges took place between Luke and his Father, where they discuss the difference between conscious choices and consequences. The narrative comes full circle, along with Luke, and concludes with a hopeful look to the future. This is an excellent choice for high interest/low reading level lists because of its mastery of troubled adolescence in a truthful voice." ---Nancy Zachary. 5Q5P?VOYA |
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"Koller's portrayal of a foolhardy teen who feels invincible and is naive about irrevocable consequence is incredibly well drawn"---SLJ |
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"Koller builds suspense through a series of incomplete thoughts (literally crossed out on the page) to transform an interesting character tale into a real page turner"---Booklist |
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A PLACE TO CALL HOME: Anna is used to caring for her little sister and brother, and hiding her mother's frequent disappearances from the authorities, but what will she do if Mama doesn't come back? �Atheneum - Ages 12 up |
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*1995 American Bookseller Pick of the Lists! |
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*1996 American Library Association Notable |
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*1997 IRA Teacher?s Choice |
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*2000 & 2001 Popular Paperback for Young Adults |
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"Koller portrays a young woman of strength and character, whose search for love and roots is at the core of a sensitive and finely written novel." ---Booklist |
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"Ever since their mother disappeared, Anna, 15, has been minding Mandy, 5, and the baby, Casey. It's not the first time their mother has left, but this time she's gone for good and Anna's first priority is for the three children to stay together. At first she avoids social services but when Casey gets sick, Anna has to go for help. The authorities find a triple placement for them, but the foster parents are slick and mean. Desperate for something better, Anna takes a bus trip to Mississippi in search of the family she's never known and answers to shady questions about her mother's past. The bittersweet truth deepens Anna's love for her siblings, giving her the strength to stop running and to know when to let go. She is a richly drawn, thoroughly credible character. Koller (The Primrose Way, 1992, etc.) keeps readers riveted to Anna's plight through every turn of a beautifully moving story." ---Kirkus |
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THE PRIMROSE WAY: |
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When Rebekah follows her father to the New World in 1633 she hopes for adventure, but finds much more than she imagined, and forbidden love too! Harcourt Brace - Grades 5 up |
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* An American Library Association YA Best Book |
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* 1993 NYPL Book for the Teen Age |
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* Nominee 1996-97 Virginia Young Reader?s Award |
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* Nominee 1996-97 Utah Young Adult Book Award |
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"In 1633, sixteen year old Rebekah Hall joins her widower father at a small, newly established Puritan settlement in New England. The settlers' mission includes converting the "savages" to Puritan Christianity. The same intelligence that allows Rebekah to quickly adapt to her new surroundings also creates the friction of this novel. Educated beyond the average girl by her invalid mother, Rebekah seeks to explore her new world, to enjoy all the sights and experiences it offers. Under the guise of converting the local Native American tribe, Rebekah makes friends with Qunnequawese, the chief's niece. The two girls learn much about the other's way of life. The more she learns about the Indians' lifestyle, the more Rebekah is confused. She begins to wonder if they need the Puritan's salvation and even questions just who are the savages - the Europeans or the Indians. Her fascination with the local tribe and her difficulty in subduing her independent nature convinces some of the Puritans that Rebekah is headed down "the primrose way" (i.e., to hell), To compound the problem, she falls in love with Mishannock, the tribe's young holy man, a love he returns. Rebekah finally admits the truth of her love when a smallpox epidemic wipes out all but three of the tribe. She decides to return to England because she knows the adults will never allow her to marry Mishannock. But her friend and a wise sailing captain help her obtain her heart's true love. Koller has given us a beautiful story of a young woman's search for her identity. Her carefully researched descriptions of early Massachusetts breathe fresh life into an often obscure period of history. She seamlessly weaves facts and fiction into a wondrous tapestry. History and fiction are separated in an afterward. Glossaries of Puritan and Algonquian terms and a bibliography follow, I would have preferred a mention of the glossaries up front as an aid. Recommend this book to teachers to supplement dry as dust U.S. history texts, to read for women's studies, to explore multiculturalism, and to continue the debate over whether Columbus was a hero or harbinger of death. Recommend this book to young adults who enjoy good historical fiction, who question the boundaries imposed upon them by others, and who need information about the period for class reports."-- Esther Sinofsky. ---Voya 5Q |
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NOTHING TO FEAR:When Danny's father, hard hit by the Great Depression, leaves home to look for work, it's up to Danny to look after his pregnant mother and baby sister. �Harcourt Brace - grades 5 up |
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?Rich, rewarding historical fiction." ---Kirkus |
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* 1992 NYPL Book for the Teen Age |
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* 1992 IRA Teachers' Choice |
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* 1993 IRA Young Adults' Choice |
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* 1993-94 Sequoyah Award Nominee |
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* 1995-96 Utah YA Award Winner |
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* Recommended in Jim Trelease?s Real-Aloud Handbook: "In short, this is a good, old-fashioned historical novel that grabs you right by the heart and throat and doesn?t let go for 279 pages. Set in the Depression, it follows the travails and triumphs of a poor Irish family - especially young Danny and his mother ? as they try to hold on against all odds. This is a brilliant depiction of life in the 1930?s, but the acts of love and courage displayed by the Garvey family are repeated daily in many families wherever poverty abides - in any decade and in any country." |
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IF I HAD ONE WISH
At a crowded mall filled with holiday shoppers, Alec stops to help a poor old bag lady. In return, she presses a strange coin into his hand. "It will grant you one wish," she tells him. "Use it wisely." Alec doesn't believe a word of it - until in a fit of anger he wishes his little brother was never born! |
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*NOW A DISNEY CHANNEL PREMIER MOVIE! CLICK ON THE COOL BUTTON FOR DETAILS |
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* 1992 YALSA Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Readers |
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* 1992 NYPL Book for the Teen Age |
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* 1995-96 Colorado Blue Spruce Award Nominee |
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LAST VOYAGE OF THE MISTY DAY: Townfolks say the mysterious old man on the island next to Denny's is a ghost and Denny decides to find out for herself. |
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* 1992 Junior Library Guild Selection |
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* 1993 YALSA Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Readers |
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* 1993 NYPL Book for the Teen Age |
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BACK TO MY BOOKS |
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BACK TO JACKIE'S STUDIO |
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My Books ~ My Family ~ About Me ~ New Stuff ~ My Movie ~ Appearances and School Visits ~ Gingerbread Dreams ~ Make a Book ~ Writers and Writing ~ Stuff for Teachers ~ Cool Links ~ Copyright Info ~ Zantor's Home Page |
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