Rosi's Castle (Rosi's Doors #1)

My kids and I read this book and its two sequels (Rosi's Time and Rosi's Company) a month or so ago. We are still talking about it.

***Spoilers***

The series follows a young woman who has been uprooted from her home in New York and sent to live with a creepy uncle in a small town in New England. There, she learns about her strange relationship with the town and with time. Most of the first book has to do with Rosi trying to figure out the mystery of what those relationships are. The next two books see her deal with what she has learned. The first book is a spooky paranormal mystery (my younger son, 11, found it a bit spooky) . The second two are more action packed and adventurous.

Author Edward Eaton tells a wonderful story. He really captures the mind and heart of a teen-aged girl (like my 16y.o., both comic and tragic, sometimes at the same time). This is something good, in and of itself.

The characters also explore not only the places they visit (I do not want to give too much away), but they also explore historical and philosophical questions in a fun way. Rosi's debate with the former slave Zilla is intriguing. My daughter used some of the arguments in a history paper (giving credit where credit was due), received an A and was asked by the history teacher to join the debate club (she's considering it).

My favorite characters were brainiac Andy and jock Dan with their constant witty bickering. My daughter liked Dan and Will, Rosi's love interests. I think my son had a little crush on Rosi (his first), but has since moved on to a real girl.

We have hashed out the story several times at dinner, to the amusement of my husband, who was a history major.

This is a very good series. I highly recommend it to younger readers, and to older readers who enjoy young adult books.

The series reached an end point, but there are some threads left loose. I hope there will be more books about Rosi's adventures.

Recently, several reviews for Rosi's Castle were posted on Amazon. Two of them (5 stars each) were posted for the paperback edition of the book.. One (4 stars) was for the Kindle edition. These reviews have been posted on the publisher's webpage for the book: http://www.dragonflypubs.com/dfp/rosiscastle.html