A Brief History of Montmaray (The Montmaray Journals)

Best of the Month, October 2009: On a remote island kingdom of Montmaray live the last of the FitzOsbornes, a royal family of scrappy (but dignified) orphans teetering on the edge of poverty in their crumbling castle. It’s 1936, and sixteen-year-old Sophie occupies her days with mundane household chores, half-hearted study in the family library, raising her unruly tomboy sister, and keeping a diary of distant hopes and longings. Her older cousin Veronica—a budding scholar—writes a history of the Montmaravians while keeping close tabs on the current political signs that point to another world war. One of those signs--in the form of a boat carrying Nazi "historians"--lands on their shores. The arrival of the Germans sets in motion a chain of events that rivals any of the high adventures of the princesses’ colorful ancestors. Michelle Cooper’s A Brief History of Montmaray breathes new life into the dark and stormy romantic suspense novels that made earlier generations ardent fans of the Bröntes, Daphne du Maurier, and Victoria Holt. Teens and 'tweens will be tearing through the novel's second half by the night light. --Lauren Nemroff