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In Tournament of Time, Jessica Cooper and her two brothers aren't too happy about leaving their friends behind for a year when their father accepts a job in York, England. Their worst fears are realized when their English classmates resent the American invasion.
Homesick and outraged, Jess feels herself drawn to a tiny church in York where she discovers the spirits of the murdered Princes in the Tower imprisoned in stained glass windows. The two Princes and their cousin Neddy are desperate to escape - so desperate that they reach out to Jess and her brothers, first in friendship and then in demand.
Frightened, the only way Jess can think of to escape the spirits is to solve their murder mystery and find out where the two Princes really belong. But their killer has kept his secret for over five hundred years, and he's not about to be found out. Accidents begin to happen to Jess and her brothers, dangerously paralleling the deaths of the Princes and Neddy.
The danger builds to a climax on All Hallow's Eve, when Jess must confront the spirits of the murder suspects and decide who is innocent, and who is guilty. Her choice will not only determine the fate of the Princes, but also the fate of her brothers and herself.
Like Jess, I lived in England for a year to do the research to write this book. I made friends in the end, but I was homesick too - and I discovered there were a lot of unusual and unexpected differences between people who lived in England and people in America, starting with the language! If you want potato chips with your sandwich for lunch, you'd better not order chips, or you'll get French Fries! The English call French Fries "chips" - and they call potato chips "crisps." But I discovered there were more similarities than differences in the end, in spite of the language barriers. Like Jess, I made some good friends I was sorry to leave when it was time to go home.
Watson Foundation Fellowship Recipient
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