THE APOTHECARY, by Maile Meloy

The story: Janie’s family has just moved from beautiful Hollywood to dark, gray London, which is still a mess after World War II. Life stinks until she meets Benjamin—a boy with kind of a smart mouth who wants to become a spy. When Benjamin’s father, a mysterious apothecary, is kidnapped, he and Janie must uncover the magical secrets of his father’s book of poisons and spells while trying to keep it out of the hands of his father’s enemies...and at the same time, trying to keep the atomic bomb out of the hands of the Russians. Time is against them...can they find a way to alter it?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence PG; Substance Abuse G; GLBT themes G; magic & the occult PG; adult themes PG (McCarthyism and Communism); overall rating G.

Liz's comments: I thought this story was charming. Its lack of bad words, its plain contrasts between good guys (yay democracy!) and bad guys (boo Communism!) and its 1950s depictions of life in LA and London reminded me a lot of books from when I was a kid. Add a dose of magic and mystery, and you've got a winner...if you can convince a kid to read it. Don't know why, but historical fiction is truly a hard sell at middle school.