Margaret in London — R.L. Rhyse

The Margaret of Greenwich(R) Young Adult series narrates the lives of a poor teenager and her wealthy friends in the richest town in America. In Book Nine, Margaret in London, Margaret's hope for a peaceful summer crumbles as events overturn her life: a mysterious note, written on a page from an antique Bible, arrives; a teenage neighbor considers her life after death; and Margaret is invited to "come out" as a debutante at Buckingham Palace. But Margaret has allies too: Victoria, the wealthy, refined, London grandmother that she had never known; Vladimir, a former general in Russia's Presidential Security Service, who considers her a daughter; a disabled lawyer, Margaret's father, whose actions exemplify courage; and her boyfriend, Randy, who is the love of her life. In Margaret in London, Margaret's saga continues: "After the bombing, when I closed my eyes, I heard the cries of the wounded and dying and saw the Prince's tortured face. The foul stench of burnt flesh had permeated the room in this crime against Britain and humanity. Some of the survivors, though unscratched, were frozen in place by shock and unable to move. Body parts lay everywhere. I couldn't keep my eyes off a severed arm. It lay palm up on the ground, perfect and relaxed. I felt nauseous and forced myself to swallow to keep from throwing up. From nowhere in the room could one escape the sight of what had happened. Tiny victims-a dark-haired baby boy in blue coveralls and a blond-haired girl in pink-lay still, their bodies torn and bloodied. They were later identified by small labels tied to their ankles. While describing the events to the detective, feelings had overwhelmed me. I felt as if I were recounting a battle that I was in the midst of fighting. My father held me but it was my mother that I needed. A mother's binding love saves us from the reality of cruelty, I thought, but from the possibility of greatness too. These harsh memories had dimmed, as they do with the passage of time. Months later, while walking the streets of Greenwich, I suddenly realized that I had returned to where it all began and felt a new sensation: that I had survived and had power and could hope. Everything that was possible before remained possible-except for being the person that I had been. The innocent girl that existed was gone. Will I be her again? Was I ever her? I asked myself." R. L. Rhyse, a former resident of Greenwich, Connecticut, is the author of the books in the Margaret of Greenwich(R) Young Adult series. These include Margaret of Greenwich, Margaret and Erika, Margaret at War, Margaret in Tokyo, Margaret and Eve, Margaret and Velda, Margaret and Emily, and Margaret and Hillary.