In a beach town on Lake Winnipeg, in the heart of Manitoba's Icelandic community, golden dragonflies alight on the young heroine in Frances (Groundwood $7.95). A similar experience, the highlight of a recent summer vacation, inspired University of Victoria's creative writing instructor W.D. Valgardson's first full-length young adult novel. Woven with the drama of the author's own Icelandic heritage, the story begins with the discovery of a moldy, mouse-eaten journal, as Frances and her modern, ambitious, history-eschewing mother clean out the family homestead. Even though her grandmother warns, "Some things should just be left alone,"; Frances, with the help of a resident of the local old folks' home deciphers the journal's Icelandic entries, uncovers forbidden love, family scandal and ghosts. 0-88899-397-8

[BCBW 2000]