Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

The extraordinary Glower Castle is alive with magic. It is a castle that constantly changes itself, moving rooms around and creating new ones along the way. Above all, it is a castle with a fierce loyalty to the royal Glower family, particularly young Celie, who understands the castle better than anyone. The family lives in the castle happily until the King and Queen leave one day and are ambushed. Local and foreign royal councilors all presume them dead. But Celie and her siblings know better. With the castle's help, they must figure out what the royal councils are up to, what happened to their parents, and how to protect themselves.

This is a well-written and charming story. Though we only ever see the inside of the castle, we never get bored, as the action starts right away and never really stops. The best part of this novel is easily the castle, which strongly resembles Hogwart's Room of Requirement and Howl's Moving Castle. However, with a simple plot and cartoonish villains (who plot to kill, but can be somehow defeated by a 11 year old girl stomping on their toe) make this more of a read for a strong 8 year old to 9 year old. Overall, it is done very well and is perfect for budding fantasy readers. -- Reviewed by Kelly of Books Inc. Laurel Village