Afternoon of the Elves

This book is about Hillary, who is jolted from her comfortable, easy upper-class surroundings by the class oddity, a girl called Sara-Kate who says that there are elves living in her overgrown backyard. Even though her snobby parents are clearly uneasy with this new friendship, Hillary comes to see Sara-Kate--and soon discovers a sad, and all too realistic, secret that her friend has been keeping.

This is not a fantasy book. Rather, it is the journey of two young girls, one who is secure, and one who is frightened and alone, but hides it under the guise of her own little world. Its a sad, sweet story, one that every kid should check out.

Despite the Newberry Honour, this is a good, not great book, and lovers of fantasy should note that it is really more about friends than fairies, and it is a relatively dark work, not whimsical or lighthearted. Nonetheless, its an interesting and enjoyable, if not particularly indelible read.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.