Sterkarm Series by Susan Price

"Beware of shaking hands with a Sterkarm!" goes the folk saying. Why the warning? The members of this wild 16th-century Scottish clan are left-handed, and while they smile and offer the right hand, the left wields a dagger... more"Beware of shaking hands with a Sterkarm!" goes the folk saying. Why the warning? The members of this wild 16th-century Scottish clan are left-handed, and while they smile and offer the right hand, the left wields a dagger. When a 21st-century mega-corporation opens a Time Tube to the 16th century, the stiff-backed CEO finds his plans for exploiting the mineral and tourism possibilities of the ancient English-Scottish border frustrated by the Sterkarms--raiding parties of men he regards as primitive animals. On the other side of the Time Tube, anthropologist Andrea Mitchell has been sent to live with the Sterkarms to be the corporation's informant and translator. There she is surprised to find herself admired for her generous curves and accepted warmly by the volatile and affectionate--but intermittently murderous--clansmen. When her lover, Per, is grievously wounded on a raid, she persuades Old Toorkild, the chief, to allow his handsome and adored son to be transported to the 21st century for healing. But when Per awakes in a world four centuries ahead of his own, his terror and suspicions of treachery bring down a wild collision between heartless technology and a ferocious people skilled in passionate defense of their life and lands. Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize in England, Susan Price's The Sterkarm Handshake--a richly textured love story, a vivid and sometimes humorous portrayal of confrontation between cultures, and a thumping good page-turner--should find enthusiastic fans among teen-fantasy and time-travel buffs. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell less

Andrea Mitchell has never felt as if she belongs in the 21st century. She's too fat, too clumsy, and too plain. So when she's offered the chance to take the Time Tube back to the 16th century -- and back to Per, the young Sterkarm warrior she fell in love with once before -- she doesn't hesitate. The lovely, boisterous, and crude Sterkarms have always made her feel welcome and at home. Maybe this time she'll even stay for good... moreAndrea Mitchell has never felt as if she belongs in the 21st century. She's too fat, too clumsy, and too plain. So when she's offered the chance to take the Time Tube back to the 16th century -- and back to Per, the young Sterkarm warrior she fell in love with once before -- she doesn't hesitate. The lovely, boisterous, and crude Sterkarms have always made her feel welcome and at home. Maybe this time she'll even stay for good. But things on the 16th side are not what Andrea expected them to be. Per doesn't know who she is, and a wedding between the Sterkarms and their enemies, the Grannams, ends in bloodshed and confusion. Even when Andrea discovers it's the Elves who have betrayed them all, no one wants to believe her. She may have made the biggest -- and the deadliest -- mistake of her life. In this blistering sequel to her award-winning the sterkarm handshake, Susan Price weaves a riveting tale of revenge, deceit, and love, set against a backdrop of warring clans and brutal passions. less