Beatrice and the Basilisk

12-year-old Beatrice McIlvaine has a problem. It's not sixth grade math. It doesn't involve boys. This problem is bigger than that, and it has a nasty bite. As Beatrice steels herself to fight a threat to the precarious existence she leads with her single mother and a troubled little brother, she finds she's not alone after all. A modern parable about love, family, and killing giant flying reptiles, Beatrice and the Basilisk is short (8,000 words) but not entirely sweet. There's a lesson in...