Mercury - Tapa dura

*"Larson continues to perfect her own unique style and offers something the graphic format is sadly short on: a coming-of-age story for girls." -Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

*"The storytelling, both in words and pictures, brilliantly offers details from Canadian history and modern life. The dialogue varies from funny to poignant. An excellent graphic novel." --School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

*"Lost treasure, mother love and misbegotten romance form the bases of this richly rewarding intergenerational graphic novel. . . . Larson skillfully maintains suspense . . . Classic themes of love, family, betrayal and renewal combine to create multilayered historical fiction that perfectly illustrates how the past continues to influence the present." --Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

"Larson's greatest strength is in artfully depicting the small but telling moments of adolescence. Beautiful black-and-white interior illustrations, touches of magical realism and a spot-on ear for teen dialogue make this a great pick for tweens and young teens." --Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf

August 31, 5:15 PM, French Hill, Nova Scotia: A girl named Tara is running. She runs through her nice neighborhood and up a road to the burned ruins of what was once a beautiful house--her family's house.

August 31, 1859, French Hill, Nova Scotia: A girl named Josey is picking blackberries with her friend Connie. As the girls gossip, a handsome stranger knocks on the door of Josey's house. His name is Asa, and with his coming, Josey's life--and later in time, Tara's as well--is about to change forever.

Because there is treasure in the woods that belong to Josey's family. Gold--an untold fortune. Asa has a secret way of finding it, and his partnership with Josey's father could make them all rich. But there is darkness in the woods, and in Asa. And in the present day, Tara, Josey's descendent, is about to discover the truth about what really happened in the family's past.

Eisner award winner Hope Larson weaves together history, romance, and a touch of her trademark magical realism in this remarkable graphic novel of how the past haunts a teenage girl's present.