Wild Lily

A spirited heroine propels this historical novel from Peyton (the Flambards series), which begins in 1921 at an estate in the British countryside. Thirteen-year-old Lily, the motherless daughter of the estate’s head gardener, harbors a not-so-secret love of her master’s spoiled, handsome, and charismatic son, Antony, and she will do anything he asks of her, including parachuting out of a plane he received for his 17th birthday. An atmospheric sense of place pervades Peyton’s story: Antony and his father occupy an “impressively gloomy” mansion, while his deaf and blind sister, Helena, lives in a beautiful annex cared for by nurses. An ill-fated party thrown by Antony for his posh Eton friends in a grotto, with Helena as the star attraction, turns tragic and coincides with the revelation of Antony’s father’s illegal dealings, which thrust Antony out of his life of privilege. The narrative rambles as the characters age (the book concludes in the 1980s), and the central premise of Lily’s enduring love for the inconstant Antony tests belief given his consistently shallow and selfish behavior. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)