Maryann Batsakis, ForeWord’s sales manager, has chosen the feature for this month’s Book Club book.

A few years ago Nancy Hammerslough, publisher at Brown Barn Books, sent in Under A Stand Still Moon by Ann Howard Creel as a galley for possible review. Brown Barn always has excellent fiction, especially YA fiction, and this title was great. Nancy and I have since become good friends, and when Heather asked me to choose a YA novel for the ForeWord Book Club, I immediately thought of her. I asked her to send me “something” and it took her about 8 seconds to mail off Northlander by Meg Burden.

Nancy’s choice has not disappointed. Although my tastes in titles (and other things) have grown over the years, the story transported me back to when I was eleven or twelve, reading in my big chair, under two of my favorite afghans, all through the Michigan winters. Back then winter was the best eight months of the year!

The protagonist, Ellin, is a Southlander. All Southlanders have special powers, mostly healing powers. Ellin’s father, the greatest healer in the past 100 years, has been summoned by old colleagues from the Northland to help them learn to heal their king. But the Northlander king hates Southlanders, which means that all Northland subjects hate Southlanders too.

Ellin’s father decides to go anyway, and Ellin must follow him to help. On the way, she gets locked out of the kingdom, is found by a sobbing prince, is taken to the Northland king, and heals him. Think that’s the end? Nope. Author Meg Burden, caught me by surprise several times with her twists and turns.

Ellin is tossed in prison, escapes from a witch hunt, falls for a dark-eyed Lothario, sleeps in a covered wagon, births a foal...what can’t this girl do?

The first book in a series called “Tales of the Borderlands,” Northlander is well written and well thought out. I think Ms. Burden is going to have a great series.