The Dream of the Stone

Askounis's first novel is a first-rate fantasy, in the tradition of Charles Williams and Madeleine L'Engle. It begins dramatically, as 14-year-old Sarah Lucas is suddenly orphaned. Her parents have traveled cross-country to the California desert to persuade Sarah's brilliant scientist brother, Sam, to sever his ties to a mysterious research institute called CIPHER; returning, their private plane crashes in the Arizona mountains. Exiled to her aunt and uncle's apartment in New York City, Sarah receives suspenseful letters from Sam about the top-secret goings-on at the Institute. Then Sam sends her a gleaming stone and everything changes once again. Sam disappears, Sarah becomes friends with a half-Gypsy boy, and Sarah and Sam are caught up in a cosmic struggle between the forces of Light and Darkness. Well-paced, full of magic, mystery and invention, this engrossing story merits rereading. Ages 12-up. (May)