The Secret of Castle Cant by K.P. Bath, 291 pages

"Lucy trembled as Arden Gutz placed the key in her hand. She had the strange feeling that it unlocked the door to a make-believe world, where she could be a dashing spy and rescue Pauline from the villainous Vlad Orloff. But real life, she knew, almost never resembled life in storybooks, except in unpleasant matters such as wicked stepmothers and wolves with a taste for young girls.
'But, respectfully, sir,' she said, 'I've been in trouble recently. I shouldn't like to get caught stealing.'
'Is it stealing to take back what is rightly yours?' Gutz asked. 'And think of your mistress, Lucy! While Orloff remains in power, Miss Cant is in deadly peril!'
Gutz gazed at Lucy. 'If you truly care for her,' he said, 'you will do as I ask.' Taking her hand in his, he closed Lucy's fingers over the skeleton key.
'I...I shall try, sir,' Lucy said.
'Be brave, little girl,' the prisoner said, rising to his feet. 'The sun is behind us!'" -Jacket

At our local grocery store, in the frozen food aisle, there is a box full of discount books. Every time I go to buy frozen veggies or ice cream my girls look through and then try to convince me to buy whatever has caught their attention that day. They came across this one for $5.00 and it intrigued me enough to buy it. It's probably appropriate for 9-12-year olds and I wanted to screen it for my daughter before she read it.

The things I liked: Lucy is a charming character - funny, resourceful and devoted. She is very brave. She wears T-shirts and tennis shoes while those around her wear gowns and medieval clothes. The author implies that Cant is a real, super tiny country that appears on maps but is too small to actually see. I like the way the friendship develops between Lucy and Pauline. The villains are, well, villainous.

The things I didn't: It's not the best-written book. There are some references to the Baron lying with women. It made me wonder if I should have another birds & the bees talk with my daughter before she reads this. A lot of the residents of Cant are addicted to chewing gum. There were so many references to chewing gum that I expected it to play a huge role in the resolution of the story and it didn't.