The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

1- A shape shifting 1000+ year old snake imprisoned in a clay jar far beneath the earth imagining finding her missing daughter when she is released.
2- A bitter, scarred man set out to kill a giant alligator.
3- A gentle make-shift family of a chained hound dog and a mama cat and her kittens who live carefully underneath the man’s ramshackle house.

Three wildly different stories are artfully woven together like a tapestry to tell a gothic Southern tale about what love can do for the human spirit.

This is an animal tale at heart that tugs at your heartstrings. The fantasy elements blend in as though your grandmother was exaggerating one of her favorite tales from long ago.

In the beginning the chapters of each character are so short it’s difficult to keep the reader interested. However, as the mystery begins to unravel, the reader begins to imagine how each story could possibly be connected. Patience is a virtue while reading this yarn.

Author: Mass, Wendy
Title: Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co Date: 2006 ISBN: 0316058297
Price: 15.99 #of pgs: 289 Call number: FIC MAS
Annotation: A week before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy fink receives a package in the mail from his father who died five years ago. The package contains a wooden box with the cryptic message "The Meaning of Life" engraved on the top. Unfortunately, the box has an intricatelocking mechanism and the keys have been lost. Jeremy and his friend Lizzy, embark on a quest to find the missing keys. This brings them into contact with many interesting characters who share their ideas about the meaning of life.
Strength: Refreshingly optimistic story with two strong main characters - one a boy and
the other a girl.