And Condors Danced

Written by: Zilpha Keatley Snyder

First line: It was midafternoon on an unusually warm June day when Carly Hartwich made the following entry in her secret journal:

Why you should read this book: Growing up in California in the early 1900s, Carly has never known a time when her mother wasn't sick, her older sister wasn't the boss, and her father wasn't aloof and critical. She longs, equally, to be treated like an important member of her own family, and to return to the loving atmosphere of her Aunt M.'s estate, where she spent her first five years, and where her aunt, and her aunt's Chinese servant, Woo Ling, dote on her. Half the time she feels invisible, and the other half she's getting yelled at for not being ladylike, but it's just impossible to be prim and proper while at the same time solving mysteries and maybe, just maybe, fixing the long-standing rift between her family and their old enemies, the Quiqleys.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You find the idea of driving a majestic creature to the brink of extinction sort of thrilling.