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The Dark Light is a novel about a young girl named Tora, set in Bergen in the 1800's during the Napoleanic War. Tora lives on a farm with her family. Several families from different farms work together to make a living. Tora and her best friend, Endre, make a pact, when they are quite young, to be together forever. Endre leaves for Bergen and is sure they will reunite soon. Tragedy strikes when Tora's mother becomes ill with leprocy. The mother's death is both unexpected and beautiful, as she dies in the snow--reindeer footprints encircling her. Tora, too, cannot escape this awful fate. Tora is soon taken to the Jorgens Hospital for those with leprocy. At this hospital, Tora finds solace in an unlikely friendship and in the support of the night nurse, Marthe. Tora brings a gift of comfort to the ill through reading books. This novel documents the life of a leper in a time when leprocy was viewed as punishment for sinners. The Dark Light, at times graphic, depicts leprocy with all the pain and suffering endured by many. This historical fiction is better suited for the more mature reader due to graphic depictions and some difficult vocabulary. Overall, the Dark Light is a novel that juxtaposes death and decay with the power of a young soul and the gift she brings to the dying. 
Sam, an American boy, goes to live in London after his mother dies. Sam's cousin, Matthew, is about the same age as Sam. Matthew and Sam spend the summer before school getting to know each other. Sam has an attitude, and eventually, he does get to like Matthew and his friends. As it gets closer to September, Matthew and his friends dare Sam to become "Samantha" and to dress like a girl. At first, Sam is appalled to even think of wearing a skirt. Then, he warms to the idea, and when he puts on a girl's clothes, he actually feels rather comfortable in them. This "experiment," is only supposed to last for one week, but ends up going on for about 2 months. During this time, Sam befriends a group of girls, who end up guessing his secret. Sam also eventually falls for one of the girls in the group and he does tell her that he is really a boy. Zia, the one who likes Sam back, is very happy that Sam is a boy. However, with pretending to be a girl, Sam does get to understand girls a bit better. He helps him to discover a new side of himself and to be more in touch with his feelings. Of course, he still likes to act like a boy, especially when he beats up one kid that teases him for being a "girly-girl." To add to the complications, Sam's dad has been in and out of prison. "Crash," is his name, and he has just found out that Sam has inherited several million dollars in a trust fund. So, Crash and his new wife come to England to get Sam. At this point, Sam is tired of being a girl, and wants to turn back to being a boy. There is a lot of micommunication among everyone. It does end up turning out all right. This story is told by several characters in short chapters. It is a very comical, and sometimes poignant story. It is a very original story. I really enjoyed it, and some parts just really had me laughing. I would recommend this for students in grades 7-9. It would also be a good book for discussions of gender roles. 
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