The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks

This is a children's/young adult fantasy novel. An interesting premise: a young boy is given a plastic Indian (native American) figure, the kind of toy that comes in a package of many. There are many kinds of these sets: cowboys and Indians, soldiers, farm animals. Not very grateful for the toy, he stashes it away in a "cupboard" (medicine cabinet to Americans; Ms. Banks is a British author) and locks it with a very unusual old-fashioned key that his mother's grandmother had given to her long ago. Next morning, he awakens, hearing mysterious noises in the cupboard which he is keeping on his nightstand.

The Indian, though still very tiny, is alive! Alive, and not at all happy to be snatched from his Iroquois people of 1700s North America. Gradually, the boy, Omri, and the Indian, Little Bear, begin to understand and respect one another. As one might imagine, it is of utmost importance to keep Little Bear a secret from Omri's parents and brothers and his best friend Patrick, who gave him the plastic Indian. As Little Bear understandably becomes more and more insistent on having his needs met, Omri feels a deepening sense of responsibility that begins to weigh on him heavily. As he thinks of the future, he realizes that decisions must be made, and soon.

This book was made into a movie, and several sequels were written.

The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier

Read, reviewed, and released in April-May, 2013

This is a book of suspense, historical fiction mixed with fantasy - time travel. A 20th century man agrees to participate in an unusual experiment, urged on by his friend, a biochemist doing independent research into the workings of the brain. With the use of a mysterious drug, he is taken back into the 14th century as an unseen witness to the lives and loves of the people who lived in the house where he is staying, his friend's house.What would make an apparently happy, healthy middle-aged man walk into the path of an oncoming freight train which didn't exist in 1334?

Now & Then, by Jacqueline Sheehan

Read, reviewed, and released in February-March, 2012

It seems to be sort of fantasy genre, which isn't usually my choice, but I tried it.
I'm glad I did, it was an interesting and enjoyable book with a mixed-up plot. In the midst of a family crisis (the near-fatal accident of the protagonist's brother), a busy young professional woman and her teenage nephew are suddenly whisked through the ocean and back in time to 19th century Ireland, just before the great potato famine. The woman finds herself in the household of a poor servant class family, while the young boy becomes the pampered foster child of an English aristocrat.

Sundays at Tiffany's, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Read and reviewed in January, 2013

It's an interesting tale, about a little girl's imaginary childhood friend who has become a real life love interest now that she has grown up. Strange -- I'm not sure if she's still imagining him, or if he is truly real life now (in a fictional way, of course!).

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

Read, reviewed, and released in March, 2010

Wow! What a wild ride! I'm still breathless, and now, of course I'm wanting to reread Jane Eyre, in a whole new light!

Thursday Next is a Literary Detective, or LiteraTec, in the United Kingdom in 1985, but the Crimean War is still going on, her father is a time traveller and she never knows where or when he'll show up, and Jane Eyre is being held hostage from her own book.

Ella Minnow Pea : A Novel in Letters, by Mark Dunn

Read and reviewed in May, 2009. Released later

I enjoyed it very much! The author was witty, clever, and humorous. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.

The suspense of seeing how the few citizens left in Nollop would cope, and if they would succeed in convincing the High Council to overturn the harsh edicts kept me fascinated. It reminded me a little of the Left Behind series - a few stalwart heroes and heroines brave the harsh persecution of the oppressive rulers.

It also called the mind the childhood song "Bingo" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bingo_(song).

Too, I was struck by the fact that the pronunciation of the main character's name (and the title of the book) was the pronunciation of the last remaining legal letters of the Nollopian alphabet, L-M-N-O-P! (Lucky that the name of the town itself contained letters that were legal to the end!)

Other Bookcrossers' reviews here