Realistic fiction with hints of fantasy. A middle-schooler whose father has a serious cardiac problem escapes to her writing to cope with the stresses of her life. There is very little peril or truly negative behavior; the protagonist experiences the ups and downs of friendship, and her mom works for the book's one mean character, who we never actually see in action. The animal characters are well done.
Not as engrossing as I recall The Egypt Game being when I read it in grade school. ( )

The gift of a Bronze Pen is a tantalizing source of mystical effects when something is written with it. The novel’s theme is enchantingly original, and likely to appeal to both the advanced mid-grade and YA readers. The author’s writing is engaging as always with characterizations pitched to interest younger readers, especially those who identify with having household pets that are like family. The plot moves along rapidly at times and with some mildly suspenseful situations.

However, a few drawbacks occur that lessen the positive impact of the story, especially the rushed-feeling in the closing chapters such as how the father's debilitating medical problems are treated and no resolution to several loose ends: what was the backstory that made the cave out of bounds? who was that being in the cave? what happened to the dragon that really was conjured?
Overall, it is a book worth accompanying a set of Zilpha K. Snyder’s other novels for young people, just not quite as well executed as The Stanley family series or the Egypt Game. ( )

Twelve-year-old Audrey Abbott dreams of becoming a writer, but with her father's failing health and the family's shaky finances, it seems there is no room for what her overworked mother would surely call a childish fantasy. So Audrey keeps her writing a secret. That is, until she meets a mysterious old woman who seems able to read her mind. Audrey is surprised at how readily she reveals her secret to the woman. One day the old woman gives Audrey a peculiar bronze pen and tells her to "use it wisely and to good purpose." It turns out to be just perfect for writing her stories with. But as Audrey writes, odd things start happening. Did Beowulf, her dog, just speak to her? And what is that bumping under her bed at night? It seems that whatever she writes with the pen comes true. However, things don't always happen in the way that she wants or expects. In fact, it's quite difficult to predict what writing with the pen will do. Could the pen be more of a curse than a gift? Or will Audrey be able to rewrite the future in the way that she wishes---and save her father's life?

So many loose threads left at the end! Almost as if the book was begun years before the author wrote the ending, and in the interim forgot all the little plot elements she introduced. ( )

A favorite author. I'm always looking for a new one by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. ( )