Anna and the Duke
Grade 9 Up-Ewan MacLaughlin has spent his entire life in Scotland, believing that his father's leaving broke his mother's heart and caused her death. When a messenger arrives telling the young man that his father is dead and that he is now a duke, he travels to England to claim his title and meet the stepfamily he never knew existed. While his stepmother and stepsister welcome him with open arms, his stepbrother is not pleased to be giving up a title and the inheritance that he needs to pay off his ever-increasing gambling debts. Richard plots with his fiancee's mother to expose Ewan as a fraud and thus regain the title and money. Meanwhile, Ewan and Anna are quickly falling in love, forcing the young woman to choose between the stepbrothers. While this is a typical romance novel, with true love winning out in the end, it is the underlying suspense of Richard's scheming that keeps readers interested.Kim Carlson, Monticello High School, IACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.