Cosmo’s granddad used to be the cleverest person he ever knew. That is, until his granddad’s mind began to fail. In a rare moment of clarity, his granddad gives Cosmo a key and pleads with Cosmo to go to the South Gates of Blackbrick Abbey, where his granddad promises an “answer to everything.” In the dead of night, Cosmo does just that.
Death
When Mr. Dog Bites
All seventeen-year-old Dylan Mint wants is to keep his Tourette’s in check and live as a normal teen, but during a routine hospital visit he overhears that he is going to die, and in an attempt to claim the life he has always wanted he makes a list of “Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It” and sets out to have some fun.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VII, Issue 2
Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind
When eleven-year old Shabanu, the daughter of a nomad in the Cholistan Desert of present-day Pakistan, is pledged in marriage to an older man whose money will bring prestige to the family, she must either accept the decision, as is the custom, or risk the consequences of defying her father’s wishes.
This trilogy includes Shabanu, Haveli, and The House of Djinn.
My Friend the Painter
A young boy becomes friends with the artist in the apartment upstairs and tries hard to understand when his friend commits suicide.
Alfie And The Birthday Surprise
The death of Bob’s cat prompts his friends and family to give him a surprise birthday party and a very special present.
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy.
The Brothers’ Promise
When the brothers Yankel and Josef keep their promise to their dying father by sharing with one another, they cause the angels in heaven to weep with joy. A retelling of a story found in the Talmud.
Odette: A Springtime in Paris
A little bird falls from its nest and is rescued by a kind old man, but after a happy time together in Paris, the bird must fly away to a warmer climate.
Ghost Hawk
At the end of a winter-long journey into manhood, Little Hawk returns to find his village decimated by a white man’s plague and soon, despite a fresh start, Little Hawk dies violently but his spirit remains trapped, seeing how his world changes.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3.
Saints
Vibiana, an unwanted fourth child, finds her name and identity in Christianity, but with the Boxer Rebellion in full swing and Chinese Christians facing death, she must decide whether her loyalties lie with her religion or her country.