Hilary Moon Murphy

Girls born under the sign of the Fire Horse are rare, and temperamental. The protagonist loves to run, and thus is dreading having her feet bound, so she makes a deal with a dragon… but the price he asks might be more than she is willing to pay. Another story I enjoyed a lot; I like when my fiction is infused with mythology of any flavor, so basing a story around the Chinese zodiac was completely fascinating.

Like "Run of the Fiery Horse", this story of Hilary Moon Murphy’s also features non-Western mythology, and a bargain with powerful forces. It’s based on Hindu mythology, and tells the story of a man who must do what he can to circumvent the fates laid out by the gods for his master’s children. This story was very clever, with an ending that fit the story yet wasn’t predictable, and a really nice interweaving of mythology and fiction.

A story about a young boy whose mother's allergies keep her housebound. The family has a habit of spying on the neighbors, and then a family moves in down the block with a daughter who keeps her finger in a jar and claims to be a witch. A sweet story about the cost of doing magic and the source of magical power.