Rating: 
Summary: Loss and Discovery
Review: This lovely novella is emotionally satisfying with just the right balance of magical adventure and thoughtful human drama. It is a tale of three friends, 13 year old Martha and two brothers who are nicknamed Trout and Eel because of some peculiar attributes they posess. The story takes place at a time when Martha is mourning the death of her mother, growing into young adulthood, and coping with her father's grief-related emotional distance. Her best friends are going through some changes of their own and are outcasts in the small community due to unusual physical characteristics. Due to a flood disaster that hit Oak Grove before the kids were even born, pretty much everyone around is fearful of water and the local river is blocked off from town by a wall of stone. Nobody goes swimming even on hot summer days. Trout and Eel are drawn intensely to water and have unusual and astonishing aquatic abilities, all of which make their loving adoptive parents very frightened and exposes mysterious questions about the boys' past. How the three choose to deal with their problems makes for an interesting and moving magical tale of discovery. This is a fantasy allegory of finding one's true self and of love, committment,and true friendship. The characters are sensitively drawn and the story weaves an evocative tapestry of emotional complexity, satisfyingly resolved. Young adults will certainly enjoy this book and can't help but benefit from its thoughtful message of self-actualization. This is a well-crafted book with a beautiful smooth indigo colored dust jacket. It is small, short and sweet and would make a wonderful gift for someone going through the nebulous world of a young teen.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Start
Review: This particular story has some very intriguing characters. Such as:
Trout and Eel-- the two adopted young men with startling qualities such as webbed fingers. And an affinity for the water, in a town where that love for water is not accepted at all.
Martha-- a young lady struggling with a search for idenity and the loss of her mother. She is filled with longing to be somewhere else.
Various Townspeople-- scarred with a paralyzing fear of the water. Which directly impacts the water loving young men in the story.The only problem with this story is that it doesn't go to the depth an inquisitive reader would like. I find this especially vexing because the characters are so likeable and you just want to know more!
I do however reccomend this book. It is a fast paced read and is enjoyable if brief. Pick it up and get attached to a quirky bunch of characters, only to find yourself wanting more!
Rating:
Summary: Indigo
Review: When Martha Glimmer's mother dies, her father shuts down. An unfriendly neighbor, Hildy Swoon, takes over the house and packs away all of Martha's mother's things. Martha lives in a dry town, a town full of people who fear and despise water, yet she longs for water and makes friends with "Eel" and "Trout" McGill, boys who drink salted water and have webbed fingers and toes. As the world at home becomes more and more unwelcoming, Martha and the McGills run away, only to return to a flooded home. When Eel and Trout save the town, a difficult question arises: who are they and where do they come from?
Rating:
Summary: Not just another children's book.
Review: Yes, kids will love this slender dear little story with Hoffman's whimsical quirky characters and magical prose. But so will anyone who loves a sweet and tender, but no blubbery sentiment kind of tale. A lightning-fast read that will linger and is just the exact balm for frenetic lives. Trout, Eel, and Martha are as real as the tides which birthed us all. A magical masterpiece in miniscule that Hoffman fans will love and a lot of other folks will too. A brilliant follow-up to AQUAMARINE. A much quiter magic than Potter and crew, but just as mystical.
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