Found this down at the general store swap shelf. Never heard of the book, but I had, naturally, heard of the author, the author of "Wicked." It's a young adult (i.e., simplistic) adventure magical realism story of Russian fairy tales, switching places between a rich girl and a poor girl, and eco-consciousness. Actually, that doesn't really sound very simplistic, does it?

"But what was their best? What actually did they mean to do? Three young human beings not yet reached the legal age for marriage? How to be a part-time hero when you were still young enough to be sent to your room for misbehavior?

They didn't know. It had something to do with trying, though. Trying to limit their own greedy I wants. Maybe trying to help satisy someone else's needy I wants. Do without their green silk gowns, sell a palace or two, supply some fretful infants a honey-bucket's worth of goat's milk. Give away some of the nuts and mushrooms found in the forest. Offer someone the extra length of cotton, the spare broom.

Sharing by turns or sharing by portions or sharing by common holding--or they'd do without, and share the nothing equally.

All they could do was make a start. Then, when the Faberge music-box egg finally broke, maybe they'd have reduced the chorus of I wants just enough for Zmey-Azdaja to sleep through the winter as an ice-dragon ought. Help return the cranky imperious world to its own cranky imperious balance.

A tall oder. Probably impossible. An irresponsible fairy tale.

But I want it to turn out to be true. I do. I want, I want."

on the shelf.