A Curse as Dark as Gold
by Elizabeth C. Bunch
grades 6-9

Charlotte Miller knows that she must keep the Mill going after her father’s death. She is a Miller, after all, and the town of Shearing depends on her and the mill for its livelyhood. She has no brother to take over the mill, in fact the mill has never been handed down directly, since no Miller has ever had a son live to adulthood to inherit it. This is part of the curse. But is there a curse on the mill and its Millers? Or is it merely bad luck? And how can Charlotte keep it running when a larger mill will do everything in its power to buy it out and shut it down? And what of their father’s mysterious mortgage? This re-interpretation of Rumplestitskin, set at the start of the Industrial Revolution in England, is more than just a fairy tale. A bold retelling, it will keep you in its grips until the very end. Winner of the 2009  William C. Morris YA Debut Award, honoring honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.