Fantasies set in Germany based on fairytales

  • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
  • BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS Blue Ribbon Book
  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • ALA Recommended Books for Reluctant Readers
  • ALA Notable
  • BOOKLIST Children’s Editor’s Choice
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS
  • starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • boxed review BOOKLIST
  • Volunteer State Book Award Master List in Tennessee
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • nominated Garden State Teen Book Award, New Jersey
  • book of the month Philadelphia Children’s Reading Round Table
  • in cassette through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
  • in German (1995 Sauerländer IM ZAUBERKREIS ISBN 3-7941-4101-6)
  • in Dutch (1996 Averbode HET GEVECHT MET DE DUIVELS ISBN 90-317-1333-3)
  • in Japanese (2000 Aoyama Shuppansha ISBN 4-89998-003-5)
  •  in Chinese (2003 Pennant Cultural Publishing Co. ISBN 957-6774721)
  • performed as musical at Media Theatre, Media, PA, Feb., 2001
THE MAGIC CIRCLE
1993 Dutton (pb 1995 Puffin) (ebook 2015)
ISBN 0-525-45127-7

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:…genuine magic and suspense …will captivate adults as well…
KIRKUS:…extraordinary artistry… richly poetic yet accessible and immediate, pungent and wise, mesmerizing…
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:…richly imagined …sure to change readers’ views of this much maligned figure forever…
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 ZEL
1996 Dutton (pb 1998 Puffin) (ebook 2015)
ISBN 0-525-45612-0​

KIRKUS:… rich, complex …A passionate, painful elaboration of the story of Rapunzel…
 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:… A work of depth and beauty… The genius of the novel lies in its breadth of vision…
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: …This version will challenge readers to think about this old story on a deeper level. It begs for discussion in literature classes…
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reviews   another review 

  • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
  • SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books
  • BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS Blue Ribbon Book
  • BOOKLIST “Books of Special Note”
  • American Booksellers Association Pick of the List
  • American Library Association Young Adults (YALSA) popular paperbacks
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • boxed review BOOKLIST
  • Junior Library Guild
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List, Vermont
  • Maine Student Book Award Master List
  • Voice of Youth Advocates Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror List
  • Missouri State Teachers Association Reading Circle Selection List
  • Notable Carolyn W. Field Award, Pennsylvania Library Association
  • Honor Book YOUNG CRITICS’ TOP CHOICES FROM THE LAST SIX YEARS, 1997
  • audiocassette Recorded Books (ISBN 0-7887-3529-2)
  • audiobook (ISBN 978-0525-6283)
  • cassette National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  • in Danish (1999 Carlsen ZEL ISBN 87-562-7748-2)
  • in Chinese (1999 Academy Press-Xue Yuan ISBN 7- 5077-0877-2)
  • in Japanese (2008 Poplar-Sha ISBN 978-4-591-10494-1)
  • Junior Library Guild
  • boxed review BOOKLIST
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, Pennsylvania Library Association
  • South Carolina Book Award Master List

BOOKLIST:...Love, pride, greed, magic, and revenge: what a wonderful read.
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 SPINNERS
coauthored with Richard Tchen
1999 Dutton (pb 2001) (ebook 2015)
ISBN 0-525-46065-9
BREATH
2003 Simon & Schuster (pb 2005)
ISBN 0-689-86174-5

KIRKUS: …compelling mystery…. fully realized characters…
KLIATT: …vividly evokes the harsh and superstitious medieval world… nightmarish but memorable.

  • Golden Kite Honor Book
  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review KLIATT
  • Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list
  • Renaissance Learning recommended list
  • ALA Young Adults (YALSA) Popular Paperback
  • in large print Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-7420-4).
  • in Chinese (2006 Muses Publishing House ISBN 986 739913-7)
  • in German by Patmos Verlagshaus GmbH & Co.
  • in Japanese by Julian Publishing Co.

reviews