THE MAGIC CIRCLE
1993 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-45127-7) (pb 1995 Puffin)

• PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
• BULLETIN OF THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS Blue Ribbon Book
• American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
• American Library Association Recommended Books for Reluctant Readers
• American Library Association 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
• available in cassette through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
• published in German (1995 Sauerländer IM ZAUBERKREIS ISBN 3-7941-4101-6)
• published in Dutch (1996 Averbode HET GEVECHT MET DE DUIVELS ISBN 90-317-1333-3)
• published in Japanese (2000 Aoyama Shuppansha ISBN 4-89998-003-5)
• published in Chinese (2003 Pennant Cultural Publishing Co. ISBN 957-6774721)
• performed as musical at Media Theatre, Media, PA, Feb., 2001

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From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...genuine magic and suspense ...will captivate adults as well...

From KIRKUS: ...extraordinary artistry... richly poetic yet accessible and immediate, pungent and wise, mesmerizing...

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ...richly imagined ...sure to change readers' views of this much maligned figure forever...

ZEL
1996 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-45612-0) (pb 1998 Puffin)

• PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
• SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books
• BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF 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 with Recorded Books (ISBN 0-7887-3529-2)
• available in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• published in Danish (1999 Carlsen ZEL ISBN 87-562-7748-2)
• published in Chinese (1999 Academy Press-Xue Yuan ISBN 7- 5077-0877-2)
• published in Japanese (2008 Poplar-Sha ISBN 978-4-591-10494-1)

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From KIRKUS: ... rich, complex ...A passionate, painful elaboration of the story of Rapunzel...

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ... A work of depth and beauty... The genius of the novel lies in its breadth of vision...

From 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...

SONG OF THE MAGDALENE
(originally 1996 Scholastic (ISBN 0-590-93705-7) with pb 1998)
reissued and available in pb 2004 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-87396-4) (available on Kindle 2012)

• American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists
• American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
• Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list
• boxed review BOOKLIST

reviews another review another review For a recording of the author reading, please click here.

STONES IN WATER (first in a series with FIRE IN THE HILLS)
1997 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-45842-5) (pb 1999)

• Golden Kite Award of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 1998
• Sydney Taylor Book Award presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries 1998
• Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, Pennsylvania Library Association
• nominated Nebraska Golden Sower Young Adult Award
• nominated Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award of Illinois
• North Carolina Battle of the Books 2012-2013
• American Library Association Best Books
• American Library Association Notable
• National Council of Social Studies Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
• PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
• boxed starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
• starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• New York Public Library Best Books
• nominated Allen White Children's Book Award, Kansas
• nominated Young Hoosier Book Award, Indiana
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List, Vermont
• nominated Maud Hart Lovelace Award, Minnesota
• available in braille and in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• published in Dutch (1998 Averbode SAMEN STERK ISBN 90-317-1381-3)
• published in Danish (1999 Carlsen SOM STEN I VAND ISBN 87-562-8086-6)
• published in England (1999 Oxford U Press ISBN 0-19-271798-7, also in paperback)
• published in German (2001 Carl Hanser Verlag FLUCHT NACH VENEDIG ISBN 3-446-20012-6)
• published in Korean (2008 Pulbit Publishing Co. ISBN 978-89-7474-621-6)
• Performed as drama at Media Theatre, Media, PA, 2003

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From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... Few books view the Holocaust from this vanage point...

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...Children will be riveted by Roberto's struggle to stay alive -- and aid others along the way -- against enormous odds...

From KIRKUS: ... Riveting... A memorable survival story...

FOR THE LOVE OF VENICE
1998 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-32531-2) (pb 2000)

• New York Public Library Best Books
• Highlights Free Library of Philadelphia
• Boxed review BOOKLIST
• Renaissance Learning recommended list
• available in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

reviews

From BOOKLIST:... writing is strong and sure... story is nicely laced with romance ...

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:... paints Venice with loving detail that is a gift to the senses... Offers a unique slant on contemporary politics and perspectives couched in exotic romance

SIRENA
1998 Scholastic (ISBN 978-0-590-38388-2) (pb 2000) (available on Kindle 2012)

• American Library Association Best Books
• starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• boxed review BOOKLIST
• San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Roundup List
• Nebula nomination
• New York Public Library Best Books
• International Reading Association Children's Choices
• Highlights Free Library of Philadelphia
• Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice for Young Adults
• available in braille through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• published in Chinese (2005 Muses Publishing in Taiwan 0800-221029 and 02-22181142 and 957-29530-6-0, as well as Shanghai Literature and Art in Mainland China)
• to be published in Thai by Matichon Publishing House

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From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... absorbing ... mythic aspects

From BOOKLIST: ... rich in insight, fine language, and a look at truth told aslant... full of the sweetness of longing, romance, and the space and togetherness needed for any close relationship.

SPINNERS

coauthored

1999 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-46065-9) (pb 2001)

• 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

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CRAZY JACK
1999 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-32627-0) (pb 2001)

• Junior Library Guild
• Smithsonian's Notable Books
• starred review BOOKLIST
• starred review BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS
• starred review VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES
• Tennessee Master List, Volunteer State Book Award
• Renaissance Learning recommended list
• available in large print from Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-3047-9)
• audiocassette with Recorded Books (ISBN 0-7887-4010-5)
• available in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• published in Japanese (2006 Julian ISBN 4-902584-14X)

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From BOOKLIST: ... beautifully written... romance, adventure, fantasy...

From VOYA: ...subtle highlighting of the need to work hard, yet appreciate the beauty in life...

From KIRKUS: ...Gripping... dark and psychologically truthful...

From the HORN BOOK:... everyday magic that makes life worth living.

BEAST
2000 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-83589-2) (pb 2002)

• SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books
• Junior Library Guild
• VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES "Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers"
• VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES "Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror"
• finalist for 2001 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature
• starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• starred review KIRKUS
• starred review THE HORN BOOK
• audiocassette with Recorded Books (ISBN 0-7887-5227-8)
• Washington DC's Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children
• Carolyn W. Field Honor Book Pennsylvania Library Association
• Keystone Young Adult Book Award list
• YALSA 100 Great Books for Teens
• 2001-2002 Texas Tayshas Reading List
• Renaissance Learning recommended list
• available in cassette through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
• available in large print from Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-7421-2)
• published in Farsi (2003 Peydayesh ISBN 964 349 169 2)
• published in Japanese (2005 Julian ISBN 4-902584-13-1)

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For a description of Donna Jo's visit to Iran in 2005, click here:

From THE HORN BOOK: ... brings immediacy and vitality to the beast

From KIRKUS:.. sensual and brillliant imagining... Compelling, relentless, erotic.

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... rich language and gracefully formal prose portraying Beast's poignant search for his place in the world...

From LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS: Besides creating unconventional viewpoint characters, Napoli is a master of atmosphere ...a deep immersion into an unfamiliar world... anguish... integrity ... true love.

DAUGHTER OF VENICE
2002 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-90036-8) (pb 2003)

• Nevada Young Readers Award
• starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• Booksense 76
• starred review VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List, Vermont
• YALSA 100 Great Books for Teens
• Renaissance Learning recommended list
• excerpted in READ vol.53, no. 15, March 19, 2004
• published in England (2002 Walker Books, Ltd. ISBN 0-7445-9059-0; 2004, pb ISBN 0-7445-9080-9)
• published in German (2003 Fischer Schatzinsel DONATA, TOCHTER VENEDIGS ISBN 3-596-85124-6)

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From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ...Even when acting rebelliously, [the main character's] actions and thoughts feel authentic to the time and world... engrossing and exotic...

From VOYA: ... engaging... exciting... thoroughly satisfying end ing...

THE GREAT GOD PAN
2003 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-32777-3) (pb 2005)

• starred review KIRKUS
• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
• Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror list, VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES

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From KIRKUS: ...the otherworld of myth, the lush and varying landscapes... pulsing with erotic tension... elegant and tragic solution

From BOOKLIST: ... breathtaking language about nature, music, and desire. Teen readers will swoon.

BREATH
2003 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-86174-5) (pb 2005)

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

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From KIRKUS: ...compelling mystery.... fully realized characters...

From KLIATT: ...vividly evokes the harsh and superstitious medieval world... nightmarish but memorable.

NORTH
2004 Greenwillow (ISBN 0-06-057987-0) (pb 2005) (available on Kindle 2012)

• Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award
• South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee
• published in Spanish (2005 Destino. Barcelona. HACIA EL NORTE ISBN 84-08-05765-0)
• published in German (2006 Carl Hanser Verlag NACH NORDEN ISBN 3-446-20645-0)
• audiocassette with Recorded Books (ISBN 1-4025-9927-7)
• selections read on Vermont Public Radio in spring, 2005

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From BOOKLIST: ...Idyllic, yet with an authentic feel... [takes] readers on a journey they won't forget soon.

From KIRKUS: ... fascinating [journey], organically incorporating a wealth of detail about the Arctic and its human and non-human inhabitants.

BOUND
2004 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-86175-3) (pb 2006)

• American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
• SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books
• PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
• KIRKUS Editor's Choice
• BOOKLIST Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth
• starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• starred review KIRKUS
• starred review BOOKLIST
• starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
• Junior Library Guild
• American Library Association Young Adults (YALSA) Popular Paperbacks
• nominated for Kentucky Bluegrass Award
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Master List (Vermont)
• South Carolina Junior Book Award List
• available in large print from Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-7419-0)
• published in German (2008 Patmos Verlagshaus ISBN 978-3-7941-8047-9)
• published in Japanese (2009 Akane Shobo ISBN 978-4-2510-6662-6)

To hear the first chapter read by the author, click here.

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From KIRKUS: ...finely crafted... ending has spart, resonance, and a relievingly appealing prince. Deliberate and satisfying.

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... powerful and moving... dramatic and masterful retelling.

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...masterly third-person narrative... incorporates spiritual beliefs... authentic to her time... will have readers racing to the finish.

From BOOKLIST: ... unforgettable characters... themes of freedom, captivity, love, human rights...balanced between terror and tenderness... both subversive and rooted in tradition.

THE KING OF MULBERRY STREET
2005 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-74653-9) (pb 2007)

• Sydney Taylor Honor Book presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries 2006
• Junior Library Guild
• Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award
• starred review in KIRKUS
• starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
• New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
• Sons of Italy National Book Club selection
• Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (by NCSS and CBC)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award List (Vermont)
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Master List
• Rhode Island Children's Book Award Nominee
• Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book Award Master List, Intermediate Category
• Graden State Book Award Nominee (New Jersey)
• to be published in Japanese (Kaiseisha Publishing)

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From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...credibly expands the narrator's awareness, as he begins to recognize some of the unspeakable cruelties going on around him yet manages to extend kindnesses to others...

From KIRKUS: ... powerfully vivid.. always-immaculate prose... as real and as tangible as possible...

FIRE IN THE HILLS (sequel to STONES IN WATER) (pb 2008)
2006 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-47751-9)

• Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, Pennsylvania Library Association

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HUSH: An Irish Princess' Tale
2007 Atheneum (Simon & Schuster) (ISBN 0-689-86176-1) (pb 2008)

• American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
• Young-Adult Round Table of the Texas Library Association (TAYSHAS) selection
• Bank Street Best Books selection
• starred review KIRKUS
• starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
• starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• Miami Herald's Best Books of the Year list
• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
• published in German (2011 Patmos Verlagshaus MELKORKAS SCHWEIGEN ISBN: 978-3-7941-8085-1)

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From KIRKUS: ... spellbinding... rich in details both tender and blood-soaked... vivid, precise, cinematic.

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... powerful exploration of what it means to have a voice.

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ... tension over Mel's hopes for escape paces this story like a thriller.

THE SMILE
2008 Dutton (ISBN 978-0-525-47999-4) (pb 2009)

• Bank Street Best Books selection
• highlighted review VOYA (5Q)
• published in German (2009 Fischer Schatzinsel DAS GEHEIMNISVOLLE LÄCHELN ISBN978-3-596-85378-6)
• published in Greek (2009 Agyra Publishing House, Athens ΤΟ ΧΑΜΟΓΕΛΟ ISBN 978-960-422-811-9)
• to be published in Polish by Wydawnictwo Jaguar
• to be published in Australia and New Zealand (Random House Australia)

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From VOYA:... spot-on flair for infusing history with emotion...

From KIRKUS: ... magnificent and mournful portrait of the Italian Renaissance, both tragic and triumphant...

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...romantic tragedy and redemption...

ALLIGATOR BAYOU
2009 Random House (ISBN 978-0-385-76472-8) (pb 2010)

• American Library Association Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults
• Parents' Choice Gold Award for Historical Fiction
• Junior Library Guild
• International Reading Association's (IRA) Notable Books for a Global Society
• Bank Street Best Books (Historical)
• part will appear in TLI Grade 8 Interim assessment 2011-12 by The Learning Institute

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From KIRKUS: ... haunting... deep reflection on our country's treatment, past and present, of its immigrants...

From BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS:... ominous, eminently booktalkable theme...

Above are sixth and seventh graders in Portland, Oregon, reading ALLIGATOR BAYOU as part of their curriculum.

THE WAGER
2010 Henry Holt and Company (ISBN 978-0-8050-8781-9)

• Bank Street Best Books selection
• starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
• starred review BCCB
• shortlisted for the Cybils Award in YA Fantasy & Science Fiction

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From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ... lush feasts and brightly colored brocades give way to wretched scenes described in lurid detail...human nature at its worst and its best.

From BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS: ... journey of the senses... Impeccable pacing...