Black Canary by Jane Louise Curry

This book reminds me of King of Shadows by Susan Cooper, only I didn't like it quite as much. The book is confusing at the beginning. James Parrett wakes up in the middle of the night, hears a noise like water running, and follows the sound down into the basement of the flat where he and his family are staying in London. He sees a strange shimmer in the air, which turns out to be a portal that transports him back to 1600. The interesting things in the story have to do with James's resentment of his parents, who have always tried to push him into music, and the fact that James is biracial. The book is awfully slow going, but I liked seeing James discover how much he likes to sing, when he is captured and forced to perform for the queen in Elizabethan England. Review by Stacy Church