Karen Cushman
Newbery award-winning children’s book author
As part of my list of favorite fantasy novels, I offer Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. A gifted musician, Seraphina is also part dragon. Intriguing story with great characters and the wonderful image of her silver scales. Beautifully written.
Here’s Rachel Hartman’s website, where you can learn more about this book and her newest, Shadow Scale.
Last year, you may remember, I waxed eloquent over a book by Canadian writer Erin Bow called Plain Kate. It remains one of my three favorite fantasy novels (the other two are Seraphina by Rachel Hartman and Something Red by Douglas Nicholas). Erin kindly sent me a copy of her new book, Sorrow’s Knot, a lovely, sad, beautifully written fantasy based in an imaginary world that is reminiscent of early North American native cultures but still entirely new. That world is unravelling, and Otter, Kestrel, and Cricket, likable and believable young people, face fear, danger, death, and unanswerable questions together as they struggle to hold it together. Erin’s incredible imagination and exquisite writing skills have resulted in a wonder of a book that captured me with the first sentence: The girl who remade the world was born in winter. I recommend it—great reading for a winter night.
Yes, I have gone public. In my NCTE talk, I announced that I am writing a fantasy, working title Song of the Wise Woman’s Daughter. I trepidatiously read a few passages aloud and no rotten fruit was thrown so I am encouraged. My fantasy has no vampires or zombies. No one dies. The world is not destroyed or even in much danger because the kind of book I like is the kind that celebrates love, embraces compassion, honors intelligence, and ends with hope. G.K.Chesterton said that fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. And, may I add, even without magic.
Being of a somewhat oppositional temperament, I tend to dislike what everyone else likes. Here is a rare exception: I am neck deep in Seraphina and loving it. Rachel Hartman offers us a meticulously-built, rich and complex world peopled (if I may use that word to include dragons) with distinctive, engaging characters. I am absorbed, intrigued, and fascinated. Now farewell, I have a book to finish.
I’m late to the party—The False Prince (Jennifer A. Nielsen) has been out and well-reviewed for months now, but I am happy I stumbled upon it at last.
Sage is an orphan, a liar and a thief, snarky and rebellious. He is one of three boys recruited by a mysterious nobleman to compete to take the place of his country’s lost prince, a victim of pirates. One boy will gain the throne; the two not chosen face death. The story will keep you eagerly reading to see if and how Sage manages to outwit the traitorous nobleman and survive. I found the book great fun and recommend it to you.