The Gardener — Kristen D. Randle

This long awaited addition to the collected work of award-winning author, Kristen D Randle, is characterized by the same robust, gritty writing and understanding of human nature that won her the California Young Readers' medal and Michigan Library Association Best Book of the year. Her work has been praised for its depth of character, touch of mystery, passion, strong values and sense of humor. Her books have been recognized in the list of New York Public Libraries' Prestigious Books for Young Adults, the Texas Lone Star reading list, the Nebraska Golden Sower and Corn Huskers' lists, and have been among the nominees for the Dorothy Canfield Fischer Award of Vermont, the Utah Children's Choice Award, the New Jersey Garden State Teen Book award, the Rebecca Caudill Award (Ill), the Volunteer State Award (Tenn) and the Iowa Teen Award, among many others -- including the ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. These are books that become long-time favorites, read and re-read over the years. They grow with the reader. In THE GARDENER, Renny -- satisfied with her not-spectacular-but-comfortable life -- takes a stand against her parents' sudden fit of wanderlust. She loses the battle and ends up having to make a new life for herself in what seems, at first, to be a quiet, charming New England seaside village. There's the usual struggle to find her place among the quirky natives there, but just when life seems to make sense again, she begins to find shadows in the corners; questions come up that aren't easily answered. When the mystery becomes personal and weirdly dangerous, Renny has to choose who to trust and how far. Kristen Randle has written a tight, exciting story that pits instinct against appearance, innocence against convention and presents a strong, determined heroine who does what it takes to find the truth. http://ponyworkshop.ponymoon.com/