Penny Blubaugh

It was a dark and stormy night.

In her attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of her bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind.

From A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

From Indiebound:

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe in search of Meg's father.

Why this book is here:

Because it's brilliant and classic and I love it! Read More 

The snake is lying on the front porch like a present or a warning, blood pooled at its throat, glistening against the blackness of its leathery skin.

From An Infidel in Paradise by S. J. Laidlaw

From Indiebound

Set in Pakistan, this is the story of a teen girl living with her mother and siblings in a diplomatic compound. As if getting used to another new country and set of customs and friends isn't enough, she must cope with an increasingly tense political situation that becomes dangerous with alarming speed. Her life and those of her sister and brother depend on her resourcefulness and the unexpected help of an enigmatic Muslim classmate.

Why this book is here:

It's a fascinating look at the diplomatic corps, international schools, and rotational kids who, in this case, never know from one day to the next if it's safe to go outside.  Read More 

It was one of those nights in Hollywood, the kind that made gossip columnists and newspapermen and the announcers on newsreels say, "It was one of those nights in Hollywood."

From Starstruck by Rachel Shukert

KIRKUS REVIEW

Intrigue and ingénues abound in this delightfully frothy period drama.

Teeny-bopper Margo Sterling (born into Pasadena society as Margaret Frobisher) spends her days mooning over Hollywood's A-list celebs until a chance encounter at a soda fountain starts her whirlwind transformation into Tinsel Town’s new it girl. Along the way, she meets Gabby Preston, a former child actress who will do whatever it takes to get the role of her dreams, and Amanda Faraday, a gorgeous, up-and-coming actress who wants to escape her shadowy past and find true love. But in 1930s Hollywood, secrets run deeper than the pockets of the studio executives, and nothing is what it appears to be. Shukert's foray into the teen market is well-plotted and carefully nuanced; historical details are crisp and vivid without being too obtuse; the narrative is tight and masterful, mixing just the right amount of cattiness and salaciousness with secrets that reveal themselves one after another. The result is a compulsively readable piece sure to appeal to fans of Anna Godbersen and Judy Blundell. Though there is no mention of a sequel, some plot threads are left swinging like the fringe on a flapper's gown: Expect readers to clamor for more.

Historical fiction that's both smart and sassy.

Why this book is here:

It's sexy, it's glitzy, it's steamy and sordid. It's like the best of the gossip magazines that Margo used to read before she became a part of them. Read More