In my defense, I have been offline pulling together and practicing my presentation tomorrow at the Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers Workshop tomorrow. I just realized I completely forgot to post my Friday Reads suggestion on Friday. Oh, well, better late than never, right?
On another note, I have had the privilege of getting to know Elizabeth a little on a message board I frequent. It was there that I first heard about this book.
A Curse Dark as Goldby Elizabeth C. Bunce
For: Ages 12-18
Genre: Fantasy, Fairytale retelling
Published: 2008
Description: Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family's woolen mill, which holds her beloved small town together. But after her father's death, the bad luck piles up: departing workers, impossible debts, an overbearing uncle. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner offers a tempting proposition: He can turn straw into gold thread, for the small price of her mother's ring. As Charlotte is drawn deeper into her bargains with Spinner-and a romance with the local banker-she must unravel the truth of the curse on the mill and save the community she's always called home.
Why I liked it: This book has romance, suspense, and some spookiness, too. And I loved seeing deeper into the characters lives behind the already familiar story. As usual, I was drawn to the characters, but more than anything I do love that it ended on a more uplifting note than the original fairy tale.