title: Escape from Heart
author:  Lynette Stark 
description: In this mostly flat first novel about upheavals in a Mennonite colony in northeast Mississippi, Sarah Ruth Heart, age 14, describes the curious events that lead up to her having to temporarily "find refuge" in the outside world. Sarah Ruth's uncle, Hezekiel, is the leader of the colonyAand despite his righteous talk, he is very clearly the villain here. He refuses to send the colony's children to school, embezzles community funds and consorts with a young widow, all the while painting himself as a hero (he gets medicine for a sick baby; he rescues a woman from a fireAa fire he himself set). Sarah Ruth is determined to compete in a local spelling bee, and her actions contribute to a series of contrived events that culminate in Hezekiel's downfall and the restoration of Heart Colony. While the juxtaposition of a Mennonite community with what Sarah Ruth calls "the modern world" provides some obvious tensions, neither setting has depth. Characters tend to be either good or bad, and the Mennonites' faith receives very little attentionAtheir way of living as portrayed here seems more idiosyncratic than an expression of a belief system. Sarah Ruth's voice can be jarringly mature: referring to a gas spill in town, she observes, "The gas was now fully soaking into the ground, and there no longer was such a direct danger of fire, but a bigger environmental danger." Ages 12-up. (Oct.) <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts
  Heir Prince Lyra I hates his life, and it’s only getting worse. Not only do Sebastian’s parents force him to remain on Lyra
  Prime with them and control his life, now they’ve gone and arranged his marriage. Unable to stand the thought of getting
  married before he’s seen the stars as his three younger brothers do and tasted adventure, he decides to run away. Only
  that’s not as easy as it sounds when you’re one of the infamously handsome sons of Lyra.
  Terea needs to get away. She’s had it with men and her family. When she spots a man who looks as though he has a little
  money, she sees her chance and pickpockets him. The only trouble is, he’s quicker than her. Before she knows what’s
  happening, she’s been caught and is agreeing to leave the planet with him. Anything to escape Lyra Prime and her future
  there.
  Terea’s plan to escape Sebastian when they’ve left the planet behind is shattered when he cleans himself up and changes
  on her, losing his naive air and be