Beswitched by Kate Saunders

             Flora Fox doesn't want to go to boarding school. She has to, though, because of a family emergency. On the train to her new boarding school, she falls into a deep, magical sleep, and has a very disturbing dream in which ghosts seem to talk to her.

            When she awakens, she discovers that she is in a different century, 1935, to be exact! A woman leads her off the train and into a car. She drives her to a school called St. Winifred's, and Flora is led to the headmistress's room to talk. She tries to explain to Miss Powers-Prout, but she won't hear a word of it. Then she is taken to her dorm, which, to her dismay, she must share with three other girls.

            She eventually makes friends with them, and they go on many adventures, and they tell Flora all about how they summoned her from the future, because of course they believed her when she told them that she was from the 21st century. They go through some hard times together, and Flora discovers the task she was sent to do.

            She is on the train back to her "family" from the '30s at the end of the term when she mysteriously falls into a deep sleep. . again! When she wakes up she is back in the 21 century! She wonders what has happened to her roommates from the past, and I cannot tell you the rest because I am sworn to secrecy! MWAH-HA-HA-HAAA!!!!!!!

          I recommend this book to anyone who loves a fast paced, hilarious, fantasy.

Saunders, Kate. Beswitched. (_____: Delacorte Books), 2011. ISBN 978-0385740753

Detectives in Togas

Everyone saw Rufus write ," Caius is a dumbbell" on his tablet in class. But when his fellow classmates see the same words written in red paint on the Temple of Minerva in his handwriting, they are confused. Rufus has never been the type to vandalize, so why would he do this? And why would he go into the classroom and tie up their teacher, steal some books, and lock him in a closet? The boys go to see Rufus (the teacher had canceled class because he was in pain) and he swore he didn't vandalize the temple or tie up their teacher. But if he didn't, then who did?

Rufus is taken to jail, accused of being a vandal, and when his cellmate gets freed, Rufus hands off this mysterious message to tell his friends: "Beware the red wolf in white sheep's clothing" The friends are mystified.  What does Rufus mean? When they finally figure it out, they are surprised at the outcome, and I was too! 

An unusually creative historical fiction book, this book tells the story of how life in Ancient Rome really was, from an 11 year old's perspective. It was also very descriptive, describing everything from togas to the wax tablets that they wrote on, and the clues and the suspense made it a definite page-turner, but the plot was pretty silly and absurd. I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction or a good mystery.