Atlanta, Georgia, feels as foreign as the moon for Upper East Side native Ruth Robb.  At first, the 16-year-old can't help comparing everything about her new home to New York City, where her family was complete and happy.  Living in her grandparents' guesthouse in the sweltering South sans her beloved father, whose sudden death has left her numb with grief, will never feel right.  Still, Ruth finds that she desperately wants to fit in with the "pastel posse," a group of wealthy debutantes whose lives revolve around weekly etiquette lessons, shopping for the perfect tea dress, and vying for the honor of being crowned Magnolia Queen.  Ruth's mother and older sister eschew such frivolous frippery; is it so wrong that Ruth longs for that life with every beat of her shallow little heart?

It's 1958 and one thing stands in the way of Ruth "passing" as a member of this exclusive club—she's Jewish.  Keeping her secret under wraps becomes more and more difficult as Ruth's eyes are slowly opened to the ugliness that lurks beneath the pastel posse's genteel veneer, a snake in the magnolia bushes that mirrors the tension simmering all over the South.  With increasing demonstrations of discrimination, hate, and violence against Negroes, Jews, and other minorities happening all around her, Ruth finds herself caught between two worlds.  When push comes to shove, which one will she choose?

In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton is an atmospheric, affecting YA novel that teaches some effective lessons about the dangers of conformity, the necessity of compassion, and the power of crusading for what is right.  With plenty of fascinating historical details, the setting comes to vivid life, helping the reader really feel the tension, hypocrisy, and confusion reigning in Ruth's world.  The characters are complex, the plot engaging, and the prose skilled.  I whipped through this engrossing novel in a matter of hours, eager to know what was going to happen next.  Not only is the story absorbing, but it's also relevant and thought-provoking.  I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes:  No specific titles are coming to mind.  You?)

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With her increasingly complicated feelings for Revelstoke "Stoker" Templeton-Vane clouding her normally rational judgment, Veronica Speedwell feels the need for some time away from the close quarters she and Stoker share as they work together in London.  When Stoker's older brother, Tiberius, offers the lepidopterist an opportunity to travel to a remote island to study an almost extinct butterfly, she jumps at the chance.  Even if it means posing as Tiberius' fiancée for a two-week house party.  It's worth it to collect larvae for her vivarium—and get an up-close look at a regal Cornish castle that boasts its very own ghost.

Before long, it becomes apparent that their host, Malcolm Romilly, has ulterior motives for gathering guests to his home.  Everyone in attendance, save Veronica, is connected to Rosamund, Malcolm's bride, who disappeared on their wedding day three years ago.  Still tormented by grief, Malcolm is determined to find out what happened to his wife once and for all.  He enlists the help of all present to solve the mystery, even though all but Veronica are suspects. 

The shadowy castle, always the center of superstition and fairy tales, is the perfect setting for an intriguing ghost hunt.  Veronica will do anything to help the grieving groom end his torment, even putting her life on the line to discover Rosamund's fate.  As she fends off the attention of two ardent men, sorts idle village gossip from crucial clues, and scours the mysterious castle for answers, Veronica creeps ever closer to becoming the next victim of a cold-blooded murderer who will not hesitate to kill again.

The Veronica Speedwell mystery series by Deanna Raybourn is one of the most delightful I've ever read, so it's no surprise that I loved A Dangerous Collaboration.  In fact, I think this fourth installment is my favorite.  It's clever, it's fun, it's twisty, and it's entertaining.  Veronica is, as always, a refreshingly forthright narrator.  She's also a smart, spunky heroine who's brave, loyal, and compassionate.  With its Gothic setting, ghostly happenings, and a surprise guest who keeps Veronica on her toes, this novel is simply a whole lot of fun.  I adored it.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Veronica Speedwell series, including A Curious Beginning, A Perilous Undertaking, and A Treacherous Curse.  Also reminds me a little of the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters)

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