Green

Like Harry Potter, 13-year-old Lily Green receives a special delivery on her birthday—a package that explodes on her front porch, leaving her with singed hair and a gold, emerald-encrusted key. She recognizes the key—it belonged to her late, beloved grandmother, Gigi—but not the little men who have brought it, a trio of leprechauns who have come to escort Lily to her true calling as keeper of the Clan o' Green, a wealthy community of leprechauns. Lily, like Gigi, is a “lepling,” a human with a drop of leprechaun blood, and as such, she is in line to safeguard the clan's gold stores, if she can pass three increasingly difficult tests. Though the outcome is never in doubt, Roberts (Queen B ) threads enough tension to keep the pages turning. Lily herself is not the most likable character, and she gets a little too much help from others in conquering her trials. Hopefully, she will come into her own in future books, as the ending suggests there's more of Lily's story yet to unfold. Ages 10–up. (Jan.)