BLACK and WHITE by Dani Shapiro

FIC
SHAPIRO

Clara Brodeur is an adult now but has spent most of her life rebelling against her famous mother, photographer Ruth Dunne. She has been estranged from Ruth for 14 years, living in Maine with her husband and daughter.

One day she receives a phone call from her sister informing her of her mother's imminent death. Clara reluctantly returns to Manhattan to find her mother surrounded protectively by adoring interns and assistants. She realizes that she must come to terms with the past for the sake of her daughter and her own sanity.

The emotional scars of Ruth's questionable photographs of Clara, taken throughout her childhood, are slowly healed with the help of her family and the maturity that comes with age.

HEARTS AND BONES by Margaret Lawrence

FIC

LAWRENCE, M.

This story of historical suspense takes place in post Revolutionary War Maine and features Hannah Trevor, the village midwife, a woman who lives with her illegitimate daughter outside the bounds of convention-a sort of Hester Prynne without apologies.

A brutal murder rocks the normal activities of the village when a young woman is raped and strangled, leaving behind a letter accusing three prominent men of being her murderers. One names is Daniel Josselyn, Hannah's former lover and the father of her daughter.

With Will Quaid, the village constable, Hannah sets out to discover the truth of the tragedy, and discovers her won heart's desire as well.

GRANGE HOUSE by Sarah Blake

FIC

BLA

Though Maisie has always spent her summers in Maine at Grange House, the summer of 1898, when Maisie is seventeen, is different. The girl's parents are pushing her toward marriage, and the owner of Grange House, Miss Grange, hopes Maisie will have the mysterious "gift." She tries to show Maisie some of the Grange family history, real or imagined.

A terrible accident, however, kills Maisie's father, prompting Maisie to write about him after she returns home. On receiving Maisie's biography of her father, Miss Grange sends Maisie her own diaries.

Only when Maisie and her mother return to Grange House can Maisie sort fact from fiction and learn who she herself is and who she wants to be. This very Victorian telling of Maisie's story should appeal to women and girls who enjoy a Gothic atmosphere, beautiful detailed writing, and complex characterization.