Out of the Shadows by Sarah Singleton

Elizabeth, a young Catholic girl living in 1586 England, and her family are in danger. It is the Reformation and they have been accused of hiding a priest. Elizabeth’s mother has been taken for questioning, leaving Elizabeth and her sister alone. Help comes from an unlikely source, Isabella, a young girl who has been living with the fairies for the past 300 years. She was unable to help her mother when she was tried and hanged for witchcraft, but is determined to prevent tragedy from befalling Elizabeth’s family.

This smoothly written tale relates the story of two girls whose families have suffered much at the hands of others. The bond formed between them is strengthened as they struggle to protect Elizabeth’s family and the priest that her family was protecting. Isabella’s experiences in the land of the fairies has given her an unusual perspective and a surprising means to help Elizabeth and her family, while trying to find her own place back in the land of people. However, there is too much going on in the story. The issues surrounding the Reformation, Catholicism, and fairies will have readers’ heads spinning as they try to make sense of it all.

3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

Three close friends, Polly, Jo, and Ama, delve into their separate summer activities. Polly tries to make herself over to become a model. Jo spends the summer at her family’s beach house and deals with her parents’ separation, and Ama finds herself at a wilderness trip when what she really wanted was to spend her summer at an academic camp. As they change and grow, they wonder if their friendship will survive.

The three friends who have known each other since third grade are drifting apart and now face spending the summer separately before they begin high school. Each girl is trying to find herself in her own unique way. There are strong messages here about self-acceptance, self-confidence, and friendship and the well-developed characters deal with some serious issues. Fans of the Travelling Pants series will encounter those girls as they make brief appearances, but those episodes feel somewhat contrived. Overall, a sweet story with a satisfying ending that will appeal to tweens.