After the Wallpaper Music
by Jean Mills

5 out of 5 stars

Flora loves playing classical music with her friends in their string quartet, but when she meets the new boy at school, that friendship is tested. Simon is the son of a famous rock star. Some people think he’s stuck up and rude, but Flora thinks he’s just having a hard time because his little sister died in a car accident. Flora feels awkward around Simon, unsure how to react if he mentions his sister, but they connect over discovering new styles of music. Can Flora balance her friendships the way she is learning to appreciate both classical music and rock’n’roll? When her elderly aunt is taken to the hospital with pneumonia, Flora is terrified that her aunt will die. Suddenly, she begins to understand Simon’s grief a little better.

The Treekeepers
by Susan McGee Britton 

3 out of 5 stars

Bird is a street orphan, stealing food and avoiding soldiers. Her only friends are Twist and Piper, a mother and daughter who also beg on the streets. When little Piper gets sick, Bird asks for help from Farwender who has a secret elixir from a long-dead tree that will heal any illness. Piper is healed, but now she is marked with the residue of the elixir. The soldiers will put a terrible mark on anyone who has been touched by the elixir and cart them off to prison. Farwender takes Bird to stay with the lady Soladin, where Bird learns about the history of the tree that produces the forbidden elixir, and she learns how her own history is entangled with that of the tree.