D is for Donnelly and F is for Ferris

I just finished listening to some good books.

The first is for my YA novel goal.  A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.  I did not know at first that this was partially based on the true story of a murder case in Upstate New York.  It is the story of Mattie, a farm girl with big dreams of being a writer.  She lives with her father and sisters and is expected to help keep the farm running, especially now that her mother is dead.  She wants to go to college to learn to write, but between her father's objections and her growing feelings for a local boy, this seems like an unattainable dream.  As if that weren't enough, the dead body of a woman has just been brought to the hotel in which she works, and Mattie has evidence that the woman's death may not have been an accident.
I really enjoyed this story.  Mattie is a well developed and likable character.  It was also cool to hear the names of so many local towns in a book I was reading.

The second book is for my children's book list, although middle schoolers might like it too.  It is called Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris.  This is a funny, romantic tale about Christian, who grew up in the forest with his foster father, a troll named Ed.  He begins a long-distance friendship with Princess Marigold by using P-mail, mail delivered by pigeons.  Finally Chris decides to leave his sheltered forest life and go to the palace to get a job.  I loved this book.  The romance story was very touching, and the characters were very funny.  It had the elements of a fairy tale, with some more modern ideas and humor mixed in.