Books I have been a bookworm as far as I can remember. I even had my books confiscated as a punishment once and often got scolded for reading in the dark as a child. For me, the nineties were associated with discovering wonderful classics such as Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden and Lucy Maud Montgomery's Emily of New Moon. But three novels published in the nineties also delighted me, and I have read them many times since. I discovered them through the Scholastic catalogue distributed in my English class in high school.
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw, 1996
Set in medieval Britain, The Moorchild tells the story of a changeling girl named Saaski, born of a human father and a fairy mother. Unable to fit in with the Fae, she is sent to live with a human family, replacing a human baby snatched away to the moor by the fairies. Saaski is odd and cannot fit in with humans either. We see her struggle to make sense of her existence and please her human parents. She eventually finds redemption by returning the stolen child to her adoptive family and choosing a new life with a friend who appreciates her, an orphan goat herder named Tam.
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, 1993
I read this novel in the early 2000's after seeing Peter Chelsom's 1998 film adaptation of Philbrick's book. Freak the Mighty tells the moving story of Max Kane, a giant teenager with learning disabilities living in his grandparents' basement, the "down under". Max is quiet and introverted, unable to cope with witnessing his mother's tragic death at the hands of his father Kenny Kane who is in prison. His life changes for the better when he meets Kevin, a short boy born with Morquio syndrome whose prodigious intelligence makes up for his physical disability. Perched "high above the world" on Max's shoulders, Kevin takes his big friend on quests, proposing a partnership in which Kevin becomes Max's brain and Max becomes Kevin's legs. Together, they are Freak the Mighty.
What Child is This? by Caroline B. Cooney, 1997
Cooney’s Christmas tale What Child is This? is a heartwarming yet thought-provoking take at how foster children experience the holidays. Here, we meet a foster child named Katie who believes she will get a family for Christmas when she takes part in a program for disadvantaged children who receive a present from generous strangers.
It is a short yet powerful novel I read every Christmas vacation.
