Christmas in Fontainbleau, France, c.1955(?)

Nov26

Natalie Savage Carlson, author of The Family Under the Bridge, another story set at Christmas time, wrote five books in the Orpheline series about a family of French orphans who live in a castle south of Paris. A Grandmother for the Orphelines is the fifth and final book in the series, and as noted, it takes place during the Christmas season. The twenty little girls called collectively the Orphelines have already gained a home, three mothers, thirty-one brothers, and multiple pets in the other books, and now they are longing for a grandmother, “one with a big soft lap and an apron that smells like gingerbread.”

These French orphans are both mischievous and delightful as they wheedle and eavesdrop and discuss and connive to get themselves a real grandmere who can tell them stories about the past and hold them in her capacious lap. And intertwined with the story are details about a traditional French Christmas and the French customs and stories to entertain and captivate readers everywhere. This book would make a great Christmas read aloud for primary age children and a good introduction to the series, even though it’s the last one. The series doesn’t have to be read in order, and I can see reading this one to introduce children to the orphelines and then giving a set of this one plus the other four books as a Christmas present if this one appeals.

“Kelig was not to be outdone. After supper, she gathered the orphelines around her.

‘Madame told you the donkey’s name,’ she said, ‘but not about the wonderful thing that happens on Christmas Eve. At midnight the beasts in the stable talk together in human tongues. They were given this power because they shared the stable with the Little Jesus. And the oxen warmed Him with their breath.’

Josine was entranced.

‘I wish they would talk every day,’ she said. ‘I wish they’d talk to me.’

She could hardly wait for morning to find out if they could be drawn into conversation before Christmas Eve. While the girls were in school, she climbed the stile over the stone wall. She went to the barnyard where the oxen and the donkey were awaiting their day’s work.”

Can Josine entice the animals to talk to her? Where can the orphelines find a real grandmother who will agree to be grandmother to twenty little girls, not to mention thirty-one little boys? And what will Father Noel bring the orphelines for Christmas?

The Orpheline books are all available for checkout at Meriadoc Homeschool Library:

The Happy Orpheline
A Brother for the Orphelines
A Pet for the Orphelines
The Orphelines in the Enchanted Castle
A Grandmother for the Orphelines

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

Nov14

I’m really rather fond of Jonathan Auxier’s books, especially this most recent one, Sweep. Nan used to travel from chimney-sweeping job to job with her Sweep, “a thin man with a long broom over one shoulder, the end bobbing up and down with every step.” Nan was a little girl who shared her Sweep’s life and adventures, his work in the chimneys and the majestic view at the top of a long, dirty chimney.

But one day her Sweep disappeared. Now Nan works for Wilkie Crudd, who calls himself The Clean Sweep, but who is really the dirtiest kidnapper and exploiter of young children that can be found in all of London. Nan has worked for Crudd for so long, doing such dangerous work cleaning chimneys all by herself, that she has almost given up hope of the return of her Sweep. All she has left of her early life is a small clump of soot that she keeps in her pocket and calls “her char”.

Then, one day Nan gets stuck in a chimney and almost dies, but she awakens to find herself no longer in captivity to Crudd and no longer alone. Something or someone has saved her life, and now Nan is responsible for the creature that saved her.

Such good story-telling is rare. Sweep is Mr. Auxier’s fifth published book, if my count is right, and it’s the best so far, in my humble opinion. Set in Dickensian London, Sweep portrays the plight of children forced by poverty and virtual enslavement into the job of a chimney sweep, one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs ever visited upon anyone. Although the lessons found in Sweep, about child labor and the exploitation of the week and defenseless, could be applied to many people and situations in our own time and place, the book is never didactic or overbearing in its message. In spite of Nan’s plight and the stunning self-sacrifice that is required to bring the story to a happy ending, the entire story sparkles with hope and friendship and appreciation for the gifts of sunrise and snowfall that are free to everyone, even chimney sweeps and monsters.

Mr. Auxier suggests a few books for further reading, two more or less about chimney sweeps and another couple about the golem (a creature of folklore that does come into the story):

The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley is the book that introduced Auxier to the history of “climbing boys.” I’ve not read Kingsley’s classic myself, but I’m told it’s a rather odd and Darwinian fantasy about a chimney boy who escapes from a chimney fire into a fantastical underwater world.

Chimney Sweeps: Yesterday and Today by James Cross Giblin tells all about the history of the chimney sweeping profession. Hint: it’s not all Mary and Bert dancing about on the rooftops of London.

The Golem by Isaac Bashevis Singer. A retelling of a Jewish tale about a creature made of clay that is given life by a rabbi so that the golem can save the Jews of Prague.

Golem by David Wisniewski. A Caldecott Medal winning book about a magical creature, based on the same Jewish legend.

Another suggestion for those who go on a chimney sweep rabbit trail after reading this book: The Chimney Sweep’s Ransom by Dave and Neta Jackson. Ned tries to find and ransom his little brother, Pip, who has been sold to a sweep as a chimney climbing boy. Can the preacher John Wesley help Ned save Pip?

Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book cover here to go to Amazon and buy something, I receive a very small percentage of the purchase price.
This book may be nominated for a Cybils Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect or determine the judging panel’s opinions.

The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast by Samantha M. Clark

Nov13

“Struggling to his knees, the boy cautiously pried his eyes fully open, spying on his surroundings through gaps between his fingers.
He was on a beach of golden sand stretched out against the edge of a never-ending blue ocean. Curious waves crept up to him, then retreated, returning seconds later. The beach was cut off to his right by trees so large they hung over the water. . . .
The boy dropped his hands, the brightness no longer stabbing his eyes.
Where am I?
The question echoed in his brain and was joined by another.
How did I get here? . . .
The biggest question of all screamed in his mind.
Who am I?“

And essentially, the remainder of the book is about the who, where, and how of the boy on the beach. At first I found the story a bit annoying. The boy kept seeing and hearing things that weren’t really there, and then maybe they were real, and I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. Then, I began to be intrigued by this amnesiac alone on a beach. He’s having to figure out life and survival and his own goals and abilities from scratch, which is thing all of us can identify with. Finally, as the story came together at the very end, I felt sympathetic and enriched by this story of a boy who finds a boat and fights a beast.

It’s a story about fear and overcoming fear. It’s also about protection and over-protection and who saves and protects and cares for whom. The boy is stranded, alone, and helpless, or is he? Maybe he’s crazy. He does hallucinate and hear voices. The island he’s on is called Duppy Island, and duppies are Caribbean ghosts or spirits. So, maybe he’s a haunted boy, or maybe . . .

I really can’t write much more without giving everything away, but I did enjoy this story much more than I thought I would at first. For children who are philosophically inclined. Or someone who might like a survival story with a twist. The author is a Texan and a Narnia-fan, so her debut novel must have a lot going for it.

The Darkdeep by Allie Condie and Brendan Reichs

Nov10

The Darkdeep by Allie Condie and Brendan Reichs feels and reads like a Stranger Things/LOST wannabe for middle grade readers, but that’s not an insult to the book, just information, m’am. In fact, YA author Melissa de la Cruz says essentially the same thing in her blurb on the back cover of the book: “Move over, Stranger Things . . . The Darkdeep will pull you into an irresistably eerie world beyond your wildest dreams—and nightmares.”

Nico Holland is another outcast, alienated boy protagonist, but he does have a couple of friends—Emma and Tyler. The rest of the inhabitants of Timbers mostly look on Nico with disdain or even hatred because his father, a park service ranger, tried to save the habitat of an endangered owl species at the expense of a lot of jobs in the town. Now Nico is paying the price of his father’s unpopular opinions. When Nico and his friends encounter some bullies near the scary and legendarily haunted area called Still Cove, Tyler, Emma, Nico, and another possible friend, Opal, fumble their way into a place that is beyond spooky. An old houseboat and an ancient tunnel are only the beginning of the mysteries that they find; underneath is something that none of them can begin to fathom, something that they decide to call The Darkdeep.

This one obviously, eventually comes with a sequel. The ending is satisfying, but the final scene is a set-up for the next book. The characters are a bit flat, except for Nico. I couldn’t really tell you much about Tyler or Emma or even Opal or Logan, the town rich boy and bully. Tyler is always the one who’s more cautious; Emma is the adventurous one. Emma likes movies. Opal wants to be part of the group. That’s about it for characterization.

Nevertheless, the story is compelling and mysterious. It’s horror, but horror that I can handle. And I’m a wimp. Aside from a few scenes (a giant, possibly exploding, cockroach!), there’s nothing too gross or nightmare-inducing. And it’s clean, no cursing or trash talk, and not occultist, no demons or devils or satanic nastiness. The horror is mostly nightmares coming alive and monsters invading the town, which sounds sort of tame, but the writing was believable enough for me and horrific enough, too.

I recommend The Darkdeep for 9-12 year olds who want a taste of Stranger Things but aren’t quite ready for watching monsters and things in living color. Or maybe it would even satisfy those who are already fans of the genre and want something a little different.

Grump by Liesl Shurtliff

Oct29

Grump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Liesl Shurtliff.

Ms. Shurtliff has already published three other fractured fairy tale novels for middle grade readers: Rump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Rumpelstiltskin, Jack: The (Fairly) True Tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, and Red: The (Fairly) True Tale of Red Riding Hood. However, I think she’s fully hit her stride with Grump, the story of a grumpy, misfit, surface-loving dwarf who accidentally becomes both Snow White’s nemesis and her savior.

The fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (or Dwarfs) has been the inspiration for several books and movies:

Black as Night by Regina Doman.
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine.
The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson.
Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen.
1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The 2011 TV series Once Upon A Time features Snow White, Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen as the main characters.

I think I like this one, Grump, the best of all the ones that I have read or seen. It’s funny. Grump and the other dwarves are endearing without being too twee. They’re portrayed as underground dwelling creatures who hate and fear humans and who feast on jewels, rocks, and other minerals. They are especially fond of rubies. Snow White is spunky and good at the same time, not so feminist that she can’t use a little help from the dwarves and from her prince, but also not so helpless that she can’t learn and grow and find ways to take care of herself when necessary.

If you like Shurtlieff’s other fairy tale take-offs, then you’ll probably enjoy this one. Also, I would recommend it to fans of Christopher Healy’s Hero’s Guide books and perhaps to readers of Gail Carson Levine’s books, too. Oh, and it breaks the mold of this year’s trend to have outcast, friendless, bullied girls as main characters. In this book, the protagonist Grump is an outcast, misfit, friendless, bullied male dwarf.

More fairy tale books, both fractured and straight.

Outcast and Cursed

Oct23

Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr.
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend.
Thisby Thestoop and the the Black Mountain by Zac Gorman.
The Turnaway Girls by Haley Chewin.

In Dragonfly Song, Aissa is “the cursed child who called the Bull King’s ship to the island.” Her fellow servants and townspeople say of her, “Spit the bad luck away when you see her; pinch or slap her to make her understand.” She’s called No Name because she’s mute, and no one even cares to know her real name.

In Nevermoor, Morrigan Crow is a cursed child, born on Eventide, blamed for all of the misfortunes and tragedies that occur anywhere in her neighborhood, and doomed to die on her eleventh birthday. She’s sure that she has no gift, no talent to set her apart, and no place or reason to hope for anything, especially not a place in the magical Wundrous Society.

Thisby Thestoop’s parents “traded her (at birth) for a bag of mostly unspoiled turnips”, and the wandering salesman to whom she was traded “dumped the baby at the foot of the Black Mountain.” She has no real name; the name Thisby Thestoop comes from the text of a note written by a minotaur with sloppy penmanship. “She wasn’t born particularly clever or brave. She couldn’t move like a shadow or shoot an arrow through the eye of a needle. And she most definitely wasn’t predestined to greatness through some divine prophecy or ‘Chosen One” hooey. No, Thisby Thestoop was astoundingly average.” Thisby is a friendless outcast and the lowliest of servants, a gamekeeper for monsters beneath the Black Mountain.

Delphernia in The Turnaway Girls is different, perhaps special in that she has a voice to sing, but also a friendless outcast, unable to make the golden shimmer that the othergirls can make. And she must hide her voice because turnaway girls are not allowed to make music. She says of herself, “I’m not a maker of anything. I am a worthless creature. A turnaway girl who cannot make shimmer. Mudworms do not envy me. I have riots in my heart each morning.”

I’m sensing a pattern here. All of these middle grade fantasies feature protagonists who are outcasts, cursed, the lowliest of the low. And all of the novels’ heroes are girls. These are almost Cinderella stories in which the lowly servant girl, mocked and cursed, turns out to be a brave and beautiful princess; except the girls in these stories never do completely come to self-actualization or a sense of belonging, not wholly. Perhaps Thisby comes the closest; by the end of the novel she knows her place and her work and is beginning to see her own strength and believe in her own future. She still doesn’t have parents or a real name, but she has made her own name, Thisby, known and admired by the end of the book.

Morrigan Crow learns that she is not a curse, but rather a blessing and gift by the end of the first volume in her story. Still, she isn’t sure that her gift itself isn’t a curse that will harm more than it will help. The resolution of that story is left for the sequel to The Trials of Morrigan Crow.

Aissa claims her own name, finds her voice, becomes a bull jumper, snake singer, and savior of her island. But by the end of her book, she’s still filled with anger for the mother who rejected her and jealousy for the sister who took her place, and fear of becoming once again the no-name girl, enslaved and cursed. She “now is ready to face her life”, but there’s enough doubt in the final poem at the end of the story to make the reader wonder if Aissa can keep all that she has gained.

Delphernia also finds her voice and her mother and freedom. She does become a sort of a princess by the end of the story, but her transformation, too, is not without its doubtfulness and difficult memories. Delphernia carries scars and in her head the voices of those who told her that she was worthless and doomed and outside the pale.

And so it goes. All of these cursed girls become Real Girls by the power of their own voices, developing their own identities and their own names. And if those identities, names and voices are a bit shaky and untested by the end of the book, maybe there’s another volume yet to come in which these formerly voiceless and nameless heroines can become even more self-assured and fearless. And that’s the message of these and other similar stories: you, too, reader, may feel outcast and alone and powerless, but you can be more. You can, even without having any special giftedness or any unique place or name or birthright, make yourself and create your own identity.

These books indicate that this self-actualization happens partly as a result of one or more other people believing in the seemingly powerless and cursed girl. I do think that’s a partial answer to the Cinderella problem. How does the outcast rise from the ashes? The Velveteen Rabbit became real because he was loved. But is the love of another imperfect human being enough to transform a cursed girl into a strong, courageous princess, or does the growth and change require some other kind of magic? Is my identity and my strength, my “girl power” there, simply waiting to be discovered, or does it derive from a source outside myself?

Interesting questions. One last thought: how many other books of middle grade fantasy that I read this year will feature this same theme of an outcast rising up and finding her voice?

More outcast, cursed, and bullied female protagonists:
A Problematic Paradox by Eliot Sappingfield. Sardonic misfit genius Nikola Kross is bullied in regular middle school and has trouble acclimating in a school for brilliant scientists like herself. Can Nikola actually make friends and at the same time find out who she truly is?

Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword by Henry Lien. Peasprout Chen comes to the Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword from the foreign and hated land of Shin. She is looked down upon, disrespected, and friendless as she competes to become the top-ranking wu liu champion. Can Peasproout find her place at the Academy and in the land of Pearl?

Shadow Weaver by Marcy Kate Connolly. Emmeline, born with the magic of shadow weaving, is suspected, feared, and even hated by her family and by their servants. She has only one friend, her shadow Dar, who is herself a lost soul and a dark trickster shadow. Emmeline’s shadow weaving magic is her identity, but is it also her curse?

The Wizards of Once: Twice Magic by Cressida Cowell. Princess Wish is a poor Warrior girl, a bad speller, and she has magic, a capital offense among the Warriors. She’s banished to a cupboard by her scary mother, and her only friends are her cautious bodyguard and a spoon she accidentally brought to life. Cursed or gifted with iron magic, Wish is definitely one of the misfit girls of 2018. (Her fellow protagonist, Xar, is also a misfit among the Wizards. He has no magic, unlike all the other Wizards, but he does have friends.)

The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray by B.A. Williamson. Gwendolyn Gray is a dreamer with wild red hair in a city full of conformists and identical grey buildings and clouds. She’s cursed with an imagination, and again no friends, in a world of people who want her to be gray and dull and obedient.

R Is for Rebel by J. Anderson Coats. Mallianne Pirine Vinnio Aurelia Hesperus is a member of an outcast group of people, the Mileans, but even among her own people, imprisoned, Malley is different because of her rebellious, untamed spirit. She will not be reformed or reeducated or domesticated, and even the girls who are her fellow prisoners fear the trouble that Malley brings in her rebellious wake.

Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book cover here to go to Amazon and buy something, I receive a very small percentage of the purchase price.
These books may be nominated for a Cybils Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect or determine the judging panel’s opinions.

The Royal Rabbits of London by Santa and Simon Sebag Montefiore

Oct16

Royal Rabbits suffers from being somewhat cliche-ridden, with Hallmark greeting card dialog being thrown around like popcorn, but it definitely has its moments. For instance, the Queen’s corgi dogs aka The Pack, who are the Royal Rabbits’ rivals and nemeses, are named for infamous women of the past: Agrippina, Messalina, Livia, Lucrezia, Imelda, Lady Macbeth, Jezebel, Moll, and Helmsley. (Why are they all females?) And the rats are named Baz, Grimbo, and Splodge. Good naming, huh?

Caught between The Pack and the Ratzis, their other ancient enemies, the Royal Rabbits must protect the Queen of England and her royal family at all costs. Can Shylo, a small, simple country bunny, help the Royal Rabbits protect their queen from the evil machinations of the paparazzi Ratzis? This story reads like a Disney romp, complete with a chase scene, greasy rat villains, a small but brave hero (Shylo), and even a Disney-esque pep talk for Shylo at about midpoint in the story:

“Shylo, you found your way here, didn’t you? I don’t see the weary little rabbit who stands before me, but the brave Knight you may one day rise to be. My brother saw something in you, otherwise he would not have sent you on the dangerous journey to find us. I see it, too. Courage, my dear bunkin, courage. You’re braver than you know.”

Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore are husband and wife, parents to two children for whom they made up the stories of the rabbits who lived under Buckingham Palace. Simon is a well-known historian and novelist. I can definitely see this book made into an animated feature film. So, it’s a perfect match for fans of Disney and Disney-esque storytelling. And for real fans, there are three more Royal Rabbits books: Escape from the Tower, The Great Diamond Chase, and Escape from the Palace (January, 2019).

Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book cover here to go to Amazon and buy something, I receive a very small percentage of the purchase price.
This book also may be nominated for a Cybil Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect or determine the judging panel’s opinions.

Wisdom, Proverbs, and Aphorisms from Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, 2017

Oct15

To pass safely through a jungle, one must walk either with stealth or with confidence. ~A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge.

Change is necessary and, deny it as we may, in the end change is always inevitable. ~A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge.

Wants and wishes cannot erase choices. Sometimes a road forks, and both paths lead to pain. The Song of Glory and Ghost by N.D. Wilson.

A leader doesn’t lead by proving how great he is—he leads by making the people around him great. ~Mysteries of Cove: Embers of Destruction by J. Scott Savage.

The real purpose of life [is] to live—to find out about the world and have adventures. ~The Matchstick Castle by Keir Graff.

Making others feel safe is a fine way to spend your days. ~Wishtree by Katherine Applegate.

Knowledge is a vessel deeper than the sea. A fool splashes in a pond and thinks he has the answers, but a wise man knows the only way to reach its depths is to ask questions. ~Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eager.

Once you’re up on a pedestal, you can’t take a step in any direction without falling. ~Miss Ellicott’s School for the Magically Minded by Sage Blackwood.

Surely it is counterproductive to expect sense from someone you are beating senseless. ~Thick as Thieves by Meg Whalen Turner.

Sometimes the way you get out of trouble is the same way you got in. ~The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library by Linda Bailey.

Everyone deserves dessert. ~Zinnia and the Bees by Danielle Davis.

Doubtful friends are worse than enemies, and fire ants are the worst of all. ~The Danger Gang and the Pirates of Borneo by Stephen Bramucci.

The more people you care about, the more there is to scare you in the world. And yet, if you didn’t care about people, there would be nothing worth protecting. ~The Danger Gang and the Pirates of Borneo by Stephen Bramucci.

He who endures will conquer. So will he who never gets stung by a blister beetle. ~The Danger Gang and the Pirates of Borneo by Stephen Bramucci.

When your heart is beating too quick with nerves, there’s nothing like the rhythm of a poem to bring it right again. When you fill your mind with words—beautiful words, stirring words—those words drive away your other worries. ~Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller.

History doesn’t judge leaders on how many times they fall. It judges them on how many times they get up. ~Mysteries of Cove: Embers of Destruction by J. Scott Savage.

. . . some secrets don’t like to be kept. They grow feet and tiptoe away in the night. ~Skeleton Tree by Kim Ventrella.

I’m working on a list of favorite aphorisms from 2018’s crop of middle grade speculative fiction. Do you have any to add?

The Stone Girl’s Story by Sarah Beth Durst

Oct11

The Stone Girl’s Story is such a good exploration of story-making and moral free agency and growth and change. I am blown away by the depth of thought embedded in the story and the simple, understandable way in which the story unfolds.

Mayka, a living girl carved of stone, and her stone family of rabbits and birds and other creatures, live on the mountain where they were first created by the stonemason whom they called Father. They are animated and given their own stories by the marks the stonemason carved into their bodies when he made them. But Father eventually died and left the stone creatures he made behind. And now their marks are eroding and becoming faded and smooth. As their marks fade, the stone creatures will slowly wind down and come to a stop—unless they can find a new stonemason to re-carve their features and their stories.

To save herself and her friends, Mayka goes on a journey to find a stonemason. Like all fantasy journeys Mayka’s quest to save her family brings growth and change to Mayka herself, even if she is made of unyielding stone. Her companions on the journey are the stone birds, Risa and Jacklo, and along the way they meet Siannasi Yondolada Quilasa, Si-si for short, a tiny dragon with a big heart. With these friends and supporters, Mayka travels to the big city where she hopes to find another ally, a stonemason.

C.S. Lewis said of his Narnia stories that they were not allegories but rather “suppositions.”

“I did not say to myself ‘Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia’; I said, ‘Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.'”

The Stone Girl’s Story also reads like a supposition: “Let us suppose world in which stone creatures can come to life, and someone wants to enslave and control the stone creatures. Then imagine what might happen.” And it’s a very good supposition. Recommended.

The Rose Legacy by Jessica Day George

Oct10

I never was one of those horse-loving girls when I was a kid of a girl growing up in West Texas. Most of my friends loved horses, wanted to ride horses, longed to own their own horse(s), aspired to become veterinarians or barrel racers when they grew up. Not me. I went horseback riding once or twice, but it wasn’t my thing. I didn’t read horse books or study horse breeds or talk about horses with my friends. I was just not horse-crazy.

And I’m not sure The Rose Legacy, a new book by Jessica Day George, would have appealed to me back then. Ms. George, author of The Castle series about a magical castle and its inhabitants, has crafted a lovely fantasy set in a world where the horses are supposed to be extinct and forbidden and dangerous. But they’re not any of those things, really.

Anthea Cross-Thornley has no parents and has been shunted about from one uncaring relative to another for all of her life as far as she can remember. But now she is being sent to the home of an uncle she never knew she had, her father’s brother, and what’s worse, her uncle’s home, called The Last Farm, is outside The Wall in the Exiled Lands where only outlaws and wild animals live. How can Anthea become a Rose Maiden to the queen of Coronam when she is being sent to hinterlands, and will she even survive if it’s true that diseases were spread by the exiles and the horses that used to live in the Exiled Lands?

So, of course, the Exiled Lands turn out to be much different from what Anthea has been led to believe, and The Rose Legacy turns out to be a book about magical horses and about magical communication between horses and humans and about bonding with animals and as most good fantasy is, about a quest to save the kingdom. If you like horses or quests or magical worlds, you should give this one a try. Even an old horse-indifferent reader like me enjoyed the story. It had some good, tense moments, an unexpected villain, and a nice resolution, although I read hints that The Rose Legacy may be the first book in a new series. If so, horse lovers everywhere will be delighted.

Semicolon

Books we must have though we lack bread.

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