what better book for boys is there than _Half Year at Bronckton_, a story whose moral effect upon young and imaginative readers cannot be over estimated. _The Pettibone Name_, which appeared a year or two ago in the V.I.F. series, was an instance of the author's power in appealing to readers of mature minds, and gave evidence of unusual power in the line of the better class of fiction. All these books have made a reputation for the author which will at once give her latest story a prominent place among the books of the season.--_Boston Transcript_. WIDE AWAKE "R." Illustrated, Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.75. Of all the annual WIDE AWAKE issues this is by far the most attractive, and when this is said it is hard to conceive what, more _can_ be said in the way of praise. Its illustrations, which are all drawn expressly for its pages, represent the best work of the most prominent American draughtsmen, while no stronger show of names in the line of contributors has ever been presented by an American magazine. Among the strong features of the volume is Elizabeth Stuart Phelps's serial complete, _A Brave Girl_; Mr. Brooks' capital wonder-story, _In No-Man's Land_; Mr. Talbot's _A Double Masquerade_, and Rev. E.E. Hale's _To-Day Papers_. Either of these would alone be worth the price of the volume, but when added to them are the additional attractions in the way of brilliant short stories, breezy sketches of life indoors and out, chapters of biography and history, bits of description, poems, and essays, the volume becomes, a treasure-house seemingly inexhaustible in variety and contents. In turning over its pages the eye falls upon such names as Mrs. A.D.T. Whitney, Nora Perry, Sarah Orne Jewett, Sophie May, Mrs. M.H. Catherwood, Margaret Sidney, Mrs. Mulock-Craik, Celia Thaxter, Lucy Larcom, and others as well known in the annals of magazine literature. The volume is elegantly printed and beautifully bound.